


The Bracelets

by HylianHeroine2



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Castiel (Supernatural), Archangel Gabriel (Supernatural), Bracelets, Castiel in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Castiel is Not Okay (Supernatural), Crying Castiel (Supernatural), De-Aged, De-Aged Castiel (Supernatural), De-Aged Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester Loves The Impala, Dean Winchester is Good With Children, Dean Winchester is Protective of Castiel, Gabriel in the Men of Letters Bunker (Supernatural), Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, It's All Gabriel's Fault (Supernatural), Magic, Non-Consensual Spanking, Pacifiers, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester, Spanking, Temper Tantrums, Trickster Gabriel (Supernatural), Tricksters, magic artifacts, pull ups, sippycups
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26626357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HylianHeroine2/pseuds/HylianHeroine2
Summary: Organizing, cleaning, and cataloging all the crap the Men of Letters had collected over the years was not on Dean's to do list, but when Sam insists on spring cleaning Dean has no choice but to begrudgingly do as his little brother asks.  Finding some mysterious bracelets at the bottom of some old, worn box has Dean curious. Cas offers to put them on to see what they do, nothing can hurt him, right?
Relationships: Castiel & Claire Novak, Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel & Gabriel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel & Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 52
Kudos: 129





	1. Golden Bracelets in a Box

**Author's Note:**

> Late to the party, as usual, I recently got obsessed with Supernatural and wanted to write a fanfiction for it. So here we are. Enjoy, and comments feed the author.

Dean had planned to crack open a beer, put his feet up in the Dean cave, and just veg out. It had been so peaceful lately, no crazy angels, no murdering demons, only a few hunts here and there on some spirits, rugarus, and vamps. It was amazing to say the least, not having something hanging over their heads for once.

Then Sam, oh his little Sammy. Sam called for him to come into one of the lower rooms of the Bunker. If this place was to be their home, then they needed to start taking care of it, and that meant spring cleaning, re-organizing, and re-cataloging all the old and new stuff.

He tried to argue, it was fine, they could wait. Sam could start with the library first, then Dean would help work their way down.

Sam countered with “Come on Dean, we have no idea how long this peacefulness will last, we need to get started and finish as much as we can.” And “I already did the library, thank you very much, Cas helped me.”

In the end, Sam convinced him with pie and a mild threat of siccing Gabriel on him. The ex-trickster had no qualms about sticking Dean in a time loop. He really didn’t want to know what dastardly things he could come up with to torture him over, and over, and over again. 

So, there he was, sitting on his butt, looking over different boxes filled with things that didn’t have labels, or if they did, it was in dead languages that Cas would have to translate later. He flipped to another page, found the object currently in his hand, and tagged it with pertinent information before tossing it into the box of now labeled things. 

One more piece of junk to go, then its break time. He thought as he looked into the tattered, water-stained box. At the bottom, looking very dusty, was a small rectangular box. The symbol on top looked vaguely familiar, a mix of Celtic and Early Scandinavia. Weird. Picking it up and blowing off the dust, he opened it and peered inside. 

Two gold bracelets sat inside, laying in crushed, black velvet. Picking one up, Dean looked it over. It wasn’t more than a half-inch thick and looked big enough to slide his hand through no problem. Holding it up to the light, in a dead language that Dean couldn’t decipher was writing scrawled on the inside. The box was also decorated with the language.

“Hey, Cas, buddy!” He called over his shoulder. “I need a translation.”

“Coming.” The gravelly voice of his friend was only a few rows over. Dean stood, bringing the box and bracelets with him as Cas strode over. 

“Here, I can’t make anything out on this box, can you read it?” Cas took the box from Dean’s hands and looked it over, picking up the bracelets and running his fingers over the etched in golden words on the inside of the box. 

“Well, symbols on the outside of the box are Celtic and Scandinavian, but the language here is neither of those,” Cas replied. “The words on the box seem to be just random words scrawled in a mix of old Latin and early Germanic, they mean nothing.”

“So, we just have two random bracelets now?”

Cas held one up. “No, the language on the bracelets is translatable, it’s Enochian. It says “Wear me to feel young at heart again.” Whatever that means.”

“Well, you know me,” Dean said. “I won’t pass up the chance to be young and dumb.” He was only joking but Cas gave him an incredulous look. 

“Dean, no, you can’t put these on, it could be dangerous.” He furrowed his brow. “We don’t know what it does.”

“Well, yeah, but the only way to find out is if we, you know, put them on.” He took the other bracelet from the box. “Besides, the language is angel gibberish, can’t be too dangerous, right?”

Cas shook his head. “No, but we also can’t be too careful. It is odd that bracelets with Enochian etched in them are in a box with two different language’s written inside, then decorated with two different ancient culture’s symbols that are neither of the origins of the languages. We shouldn’t try them on.”

“Well Sam is counting on me to catalog everything, so we need to find out what they do.” If Dean was honest with himself, which often he wasn’t, he really didn’t care about cataloging, he was just plain curious now.

A long, deep, exasperated sigh escaped Cas’s mouth. “Fine.” He finally growled. “I will try them on, since they do seem to be angelic in origin, then I should be safe if I put them on.”

“Alright.” Dean leaned into the shelf. “Go ahead, I’ll take notes.” Cas put the box on the shelf and slipped the bracelets on his wrists, they looked like tiny gold handcuffs, bright against the pale skin. They came to rest against his hands as he hung them loosely at his sides.

“Nothing.” Cas mumbled. Dean shook his head, a little disappointed.

Damn, there went his break. “Alright, I guess take them off, we’ll just toss them.” He watched as Cas slipped a finger under one bracelet before drawing it back out quickly with a yelp of panic. In disbelief, they both watched as the bracelets shrunk to flush against his skin, then got even tighter.

“Dean?” Cas managed to say, panic evident in his voice, before he gasped and choked, clutching his chest. Dean quickly grabbed him and held him up shouting over his shoulder out the open door of the room they were in.

“Sam!” Cas slid from his grip onto the floor, falling flat in his face before he could catch him again, and then disappeared entirely, only his clothes left behind. Sam came sliding down the hallway a second later, his body nearly crashing into the door jam.

“Dean, what happened?” He asked, looking around, seeing no immediate danger, but a lack of an angel was alarming. “Where’s Cas?” 

Dean gestured to the floor. “He was here, now he’s not!” He grabbed the box on the shelf behind him and thrust it into his brother’s hands. “There were bracelets, Cas tried them on, and now, I –I don’t know!”

“I’m still here.” A tiny voice said. Both brother’s looked down to see a large lump in the trench coat, Dean lifted it carefully to see a young boy, no older than four or five getting onto his knees, looking up at them with impossibly blue eyes. 

“C-Cas?” Sam’s voice shook. “Is that you?”

“Yes, why are you so big?” Cas looked to his hands and gasped. “What happened to my vessel?!”

“Don’t panic,” Dean said calmly, more to himself than other Sam or Cas. “We can figure this out.” Cas’s tiny chest started to heave, his lower lip quivered and tears filled the sparkling blue eyes. Dean knew from practically raising Sam that an overwhelmed child was about to have a meltdown. “Cas.” Was about all he could get out before the waterworks started and an ear-splitting shriek filled the room as Cas began to cry. 

Sam scooped him up from the floor and lay his head down on his chest. “Hey, no, don’t cry, it’s okay, we can get this figured out. Shh, it’s okay.” He looked to Dean, feeling lost. Dean looked lost, but being a big brother had its advantages. He patted Cas on the back, in a gentle rhythm as Sam swayed gently back and forth.

Both brothers consoled the child in their arms, patting and rubbing his back or wiping away the fat tears that rolled down criminally adorable cheeks. Thankfully, the wail he was emitting had turned into sputtering hiccups and sniffles. He finally snuggled into Sam’s shirt, his fingers twisting gently into the hair that trailed over his shoulders. 

Breathing a sigh of relief Dean blinked a few times just to make sure this was all really happening, then finally he said. “We should get him dressed.” 

Ten minutes later, Cas was sitting on the couch, in an old, faded Led Zeppelin shirt of Dean’s that was just too big, but it was better than his old shirt and Sam was even bigger. “At least you can still sit up by yourself,” Dean observed. “What in the hell are those bracelets?”

Cas held up his hands, the bracelets were still flush with his skin, but he could still flex his wrists comfortably and they weren’t digging into him like they were. “I don’t know, but I would like to be back to my normal size. This size vessel is not comfortable, and I find myself horrendously upset right now.”

Sam rubbed his eyes. “No kidding.” He looked to Dean. “At least he is all there mentally.”

“Yeah.” He snorted. “Cas, you look like a little kid, tone down the adult speak.” Cas opened his little mouth to reply when Sam interjected.

“Alright, well, run me through exactly what happened again.” He urged them to move on. “He put on the bracelets that had Enochian on them, then they shrunk, and he shrunk with them.” 

“Yep,” Dean replied, popping the p as he did. Crossing his arms, he leaned into the wall. “Cas didn’t know what they were, and I told him to try them on, we both figured his angel mojo would protect him from anything that could happen.”

“But it didn’t.” Sam groaned. “Well, who might know about this? Only angels and a few demons can read and write Enochian, so, this has to be at least angel made or inspired.”

“It’s older than me,” Cas said, his tiny voice popping up from the couch. “Dean, I am thirsty, can I have something to drink?”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “I thought angels didn’t need to eat or drink.”

Can shook his head, his stubby fingers running through the mop-top of black hair on his head. “Normally no, but I feel parched and out of sorts…hollow really.”

“Well, you did have a good cry in there.” Sam chuckled as he leaned into the chair he was sitting on. “You’re worn out man.” 

Retrieving a glass of juice Dean handed Cas the beverage, which he nearly dropped, his hands unable to hold the glass. “Shit, your hands are too tiny for this.” He held the bottom of the glass as Cas tilted his head back and drank in tiny sips. “So, who do you think we can call?”

“I don’t know, most of the angels hate our guts.” Snapping his fingers Sam sat up. “Wait, Gabriel might know, the only ones older than him are his brothers and Chuck.”

“Great.” Dean didn’t want to deal with Gabriel, but a miniature Cas was good for no one. “Alright, call him. Let’s hope he answers.” With a nod, Sam clasped his hands together and prayed.

“I pray to the archangel Gabriel to hear my words. Hey, uhh, we have a situation down here, Cas is…well, in trouble. We could use your advice.”

“My advice?” Gabriel’s voice made them all jump as the sound of fluttering wings filled the room. “Why, I thought you boys would never ask.” He grinned and strode in. “What’s up with my baby bro?”

Dean gestured to Cas, who had since finished his juice. Gabriel’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. “Well hello there, you are just the most adorable little tyke there is.” He scooped him up. “Look at you, you want a lollipop?”

“No.” Cas ground out, which would have been intimidating if it didn’t sound like it came from a squeak toy. “Gabriel, I do not want sweets, I want my body back.”

Sam and Dean were about eighty percent positive Gabriel had a stroke, though the mouth agape look was a nice change of pace from the usual cocky smirk. 

“Gabe?” Sam voiced, it finally breaking Gabriel from his trance. His eyes glowed as he whirled around and snarled.

“What did you two mutton heads do to him? Why is he like this? He looks like a fledgling.”

“Whoa, back up!” Dean pointed a finger in Gabriel’s face. “We didn’t do anything to him, it was these bracelets we found.”

“Bracelets,” Gabriel repeated, his shoulders deflating. “Tiny, gold bracelets in a box?”

“Uhh, yeah.” Sam grabbed the box from the coffee table. “It was in our artifact room, we were doing some re-cataloging and found them. Since they had Enochian on them, Dean and Cas decided Cas should try them on, then this.”

Gabriel looked between all of them, gently grabbing Cas’s wrist, looking at the tiny bracelets. “Gabriel?” Cas asked as his tiny hand touched the older archangel’s face. The range of emotion that crossed his face went from disbelief, anger, confusion, and finally laughter. He threw his head back and laughed, holding Cas to his chest.

“Oh no, no, please no.” Gabriel finally said in between short bursts of laughter. “No, Castiel, no.” He wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. “Castiel, of all the pranks I put on this Earth, you had to fall for the fountain of youth bracelets?”

“These are yours?” Dean felt his heart stop. Gabriel shrugged.

“Look, I just started as a trickster and had a few laughs here and there, but I wanted to make a more permeant trick, so I made some bracelets that would turn the wearer into a child. It was meant to be a trick on those that would be greedy enough to put on bracelets that weren’t theirs, you know, like how children touch everything.” 

“So how do we stop it?” Sam asked. “Can you take them off?”

“Negative Samsquatch.” Gabriel handed Cas back to Dean. “The bracelets can come off, but only by the person wearing them.”

“I have tried,” Cas stated. “They will not budge.” Gabriel raised an eyebrow and studied his brother’s face. 

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, they can come off, I didn’t put any sticking tricks on them.” He tsked and clicked his tongue. “Shame really, I should have now that I think about it.” Dean marched over and grabbed Gabriel by the shirt. 

“Look you ass, these are your toys pretty much, you have to help us fix this.” He gestured to Cas in his arms. “He can’t stay like this, we don’t have clothes, or toys, or age-appropriate food wares that he can use. Hell, I don’t even think he can use his powers.”

“Nor do we have the money to buy him stuff,” Sam replied. “Come on Gabriel, there has to be something you can do, please. “The ex-trickster curled his lip and rolled his eyes before taking Dean’s hand off his shirt.

“I really don’t know what to tell you boys, I can’t take them off, Castiel has to be the one, and if he can’t, well, then tough.” He pulled a sucker from his pocket and popped it in his mouth. “But, I can at least do one thing, and only because I happen to like you two.” He snapped his fingers and in a flash, he was gone.

He better not have just flew back off to wherever he was and dropped us. Dean growled. “Cas, are you okay?” He noticed the little boy was squirming in his arms.

“I need to pee.” He said. “I remember this sensation from when I was human, and I am about to let go. Dean jumped.”

“Woah, hang on. Don’t pee on me.” He headed for a nearby bathroom and then stared at the toilet. How the hell was he going to do this, Cas was too small for a regular toilet, he would fall right in. The squirming child in his arms told him he had no time to think. Lifting the shirt, that was more of a dress on Cas, he plopped him onto the edge of the toilet, making sure he was aiming to the bowl and held him there. 

Cas’s fingers dug into his forearms. “Don’t let go please.”

“I won’t buddy, just go.” He reassured him. Five seconds later relief washed over Cas’s face as he finished up his business and Dean helped him clean up. 

“Thank you, Dean.” 

“No problem buddy.” He smiled fondly as he out him down to yank the stool in the corner of the bathroom over to the sink. They usually kept in the bathroom to sit on when cleaning weapons in the tub, but for now, it could be for little Cas to stand on so he could wash his hands. Dean washed his own and dried their hands off together before going back into the main part of the bunker where Sam was, Gabriel had come back while they were occupied.

“Here chuckles, don’t say I never did anything for you.” Gabriel wiggled his eyebrows as he handed Dean an envelope. He looked it over, tore it open, and nearly choked, he had never seen that many bills in his life.

“What the hell is this? Where did you get all this money?”

Gabriel stretched his back and yawned. “Well, when you are as old as I am, you tend to pick up money. When I first got down here, I started collecting money that people would give me, I didn’t need it. I mean, I can just you know.” He snapped. “Poof, there’s whatever I needed. My vessel didn’t need food so, I just held onto it.” He pointed to the cash in Dean’s hand. “That is all the recent money I have, I would give you the old coins and crap people gave me in offerings but I don’t think you can stroll into a Wal-Mart with a fifteenth-century gold piece and buy pull-ups.” 

“Why are you doing this?” Cas asked as he struggled to get back up on the couch. Gabriel’s eyes softened as he helped him up with a little boost. 

“Call me a softy if you want, but I raised you once, and well, I do feel bad that my trick did this to you, of all people.” He laughed, trying to cover his embarrassment over being so soft. “But, don’t expect any more freebies little bro, next time, you’re helping me with a prank.” He looked to Sam and Dean. “Get whatever you need for him, you have more than enough, pray if you need me.” He smirked and snapped his fingers, leaving with nary a goodbye.

“Well, I guess I’m making a store run.” Dean said. He did not want to try and fit baby with a car seat.


	2. Store Run

The Bracelets

Chapter 2: Store Run

Looking over the list that he and Sam made, Dean felt a little overwhelmed himself looking at the five aisles of just baby stuff in the store. Honestly, going over everything that Cas could possibly need felt like he was getting ready to do a hunt and needed supplies, there was so much! Sam pretty much called the shots in that one, having had helped babysit while in college to get extra cash. 

“Get this, get that, no, not that, he can’t eat those!” Sam nagged him like an old crone and called him twice on the way to the store to write down a few other things that they missed, like socket covers and corner padding. Dean only remembered the John Winchester way of baby proofing and clothing.  _ “Don’t touch shit, and stop crying. You’ll get what you get.”  _ Hell, his form of childproofing stuff included showing Dean how to make sure the safety was on his guns.

Really though, would Cas be that dumb to stick a fork into an electrical socket? Well, he did struggle with can openers sometimes, maybe it was for the best. 

With a heavy sigh, Dean pushed the cart forward into the first aisle. First, he needed pull-ups. After determining that Cas could control his bladder to an extent, they decided that he only needed a toilet training chair to aid in not falling in. But the bathrooms were heavily spread out and there was no way that he would buy more than one potty chair for every bathroom of the bunker. So, accidents would happen if Cas wasn’t near his potty chair in time. 

Grabbing a few packs from the shelf that looked like it would fit, he rolled into the next aisle and grabbed half a dozen little plates, forks, spoons, sip cups, and at least twenty bibs. From the experience of helping with Sam, toddlers could spit up like no tomorrow and he didn’t want to have to do any more laundry loads than necessary. 

“Do toddlers need pacifiers?” He asked himself as he saw all the different soothers hanging on the shelves, his fingers brushing each one. He couldn’t remember if Sam had one, ooh, those were glow-in-the-dark, hell yeah. Grabbing a couple he threw them into the basket. 

Further down the aisle, Dean focused on one object, a baby monitor. His number one fear in becoming a father was SIDS, growing up, John told him multiple times to check if Sam was still breathing as he had become too quiet during the nights and told him the horrors of sudden infant death. While he believed that Cas wouldn’t just, you know, die randomly in the middle of the night, putting a set of monitors in the basket did ease a little worry off his shoulders. Rolling into the next aisle, he looked at his list. What was next?

Tongue poking out between his teeth, re-running through everything, Dean hoped this was enough. The basket was nearly overflowing now, and he had a car seat, a crib, a booster seat, a playpen, and the aforementioned toilet training chair waiting upfront. He figured to leave out a stroller, considering Cas could walk just fine on his own, albeit not quickly, but that’s what the baby carrier in the basket was for. “Let’s see.” He mumbled to himself. “Diaper bag, baby powder, diaper rash cream, baby towels, baby soap and shampoo, a step stool, toddler blanket and pillows, socket covers, cabinet locks, and furniture securements.” He had mostly everything on Sam’s list, now he just needed to buy clothes.

Which proved was equally overwhelming. He really shouldn’t have done this without Sam. There were so many options and many different sizes. What the hell was the difference between eighteen months and a four T? John did all the shopping for clothes, grabbing shit until something fit and then buying it. 

His ears perked hearing babbling and a child giggling along. Craning his neck he saw a woman pushing a cart with a young toddler who looked to be about Cas’s size and a baby in the seat. Walking over he put on the Winchester charm.

Which looked strangely like begging at this point.

“Miss?” He asked, feeling uncomfortable as she turned with a wary stare. “Can I get you to help me?” He thought of a lie quickly. “My wife and I just adopted a boy, and I don’t have a clue on what size he is.” Yeah, play the dumb dad roll.

The woman smiled softly, her wary expression turning to relief. “Oh, I know what that’s like, how old is he?” Dean froze.

“Four?” He hazards a guess. She nodded and gestured to her son in the cart. 

“That’s how old Kyle is, if he’s at a healthy weight and height, we can just go off of that.” She pulled a couple of shirts from her basket and handed them over. “Here, you should go for a about a four T, and size 6 in underwear. Shoes usually run about 5 or 6, pants go by the 4 T as well.” 

Dean could kiss this woman. “Oh, thank you so much, I have to admit, I feel a little overwhelmed.” She waved off his concerns.

“I understand completely, bringing in a new child into the house is always difficult, especially if you are a first-time parent. What’s your son’s name?” 

“Castiel,” Dean replied. “I call him Cas for short.”

She laughed. “Like my little Cassie here.” She pinched the baby on the cheek who giggled and playfully batted at her mom’s hands. “Good luck, if you need any more advice, you can always go to mom groups on Facebook, they are always accepting new parents and have great advice.” She leaned in and whispered. “Don’t bring up bottle versus breastfeeding though, you’ll spark war if you do.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Dean chuckled. “Thank you…Miss?”

“Clifton.” She replied. “I’m Dawn Clifton.”

“Dean.” He shook her hand. “Dean Wi-Williams.” He corrected himself quickly. “Again, thank you.” They parted ways as Dean went deeper into the toddlers section of clothes. He was never good at picking out clothes, when he shopped for himself, it was neutral tones and leathers to blend in with the crowds or shadows. 

Now, he had to shop for Cas, and apparently, all little boys had bright, fun colors to wear. With a head shake to clear his mind, he just grabbed every article of clothing that said 4 T on it. He had no idea if Cas would grow, he doubted it, so he saw no issue with not being a little more critical of what he picked up. If it was blue, green, red, or brown, into the basket it went. 

Finally, with multiple of everything, four different sets of shoes and dozens of underpants and socks, Dean went to the checkout, wanting this exhausting experience to be over. He chatted up the cashier, so she wouldn’t notice how much he was spending at one time and helped bag everything carefully. He didn’t want to lose any of this and there was a lot to lose.

Getting loaded up with enough bags to choke a horse, Dean paid the total, an unsurprising but heartbreaking large number, got loaded up with the big items, and set to the arduous process of getting everything into the impala. The bags, all went into the trunk, and with much shoving, swearing, and cursing Gabriel’s name, he managed to get the crib and playpen into the back seat, praying that the seats weren’t scratched up from the piss poor cardboard and haphazardly placed staples. In the front, the awkwardly placed car seat, toilet training chair, and booster seat sat with him. Turning the engine over, he changed gears and pulled out of the parking spot.

Picking up his phone he called Sam, wincing as his brother picked the phone and he could hear Cas’s high-pitched wailing in the background. “Sam? I’m headed back to the bunker, what’s going on?”

Sam sighed heavily, the sound of Cas’s crying getting muffled as a door closed in the background. “He’s upset and didn’t take my scolding well.”

“Oh?” Dean had to hear this. “Why did you scold him? He try to fly or something?”

“After you left, he said he was hungry and I offered to make him some dinner, just a sandwich cut up into tiny pieces you know, he insisted that he could make it himself or at least help, but only wearing an oversized t-shirt and barely able to walk without stumbling, I told him no.” Sam chuckled a little, in more exasperation than amusement. “He started going on how he was an angel, a former commander, and every bit a hunter as us, and he was more than capable of helping me make a simple sandwich.”

“Cas throwing a tantrum, what else is new?” Dean pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the road. 

“Yeah, so I told him point blank, he’s too little to help and needs to sit this out. Oh Dean, you should have seen it, he threw himself onto the floor and started to cry like there was no tomorrow. I called Gabriel back because this was way too out of character, even for Cas. You know what he told me?”

Oh boy. “What?”

“The bracelets actually affect his mind. Since he is an angel, he can have some cognitive abilities, and if he’s in the right mood, he will be just as we usually know him, but if he’s upset, sad, or scared, well, he will slip right into the mind of a four-year-old.” 

“Of course,” Dean replied, turning onto the highway. “This couldn’t be easy after all. So where did you stash him?”

“I put him down in my room, since I have that huge pillow for my back, it’ll help keep him on the bed. I’m sure he’ll just cry himself to sleep.” 

“Sounds like it. I’ll be home in twenty.” He hung up and sighed as he sailed down the highway to the bunker. The next time he saw Gabriel, he was going to strangle him with his own lollipops. Who makes de-aging bracelets anyways?

Sam helped him unload everything and carry all the things he bought into the bunker, Cas was still wailing in Sam’s room, a feat that Dean was sort of impressed with, he would have thought that his lungs would have given out by now. Dragging the last piece of furniture that would be set up tomorrow, because to hell with doing it right now, Sam said he was going to take five, and Dean decided he needed to check on Cas. 

“Cas, buddy?” He asked as he pushed open Sam’s door. 

“De?” Cas whined as he looked up through his fists. Dean felt a punch to his gut, the tiny version of his friend looked so sad and so broken. “Sam mad?”

Dean walked in and sat on the end of the bed, Cas crawling to him and curling into his side. “No little bee, Sam isn’t upset with you, he only wants what’s best for you. You’re still adjusting and that’s okay.” He noted that Cas was wet, the shirt he was wearing soaked through. 

Figured, having a tantrum for that long, screaming his lungs out would have made him sweat. “Come on Cas, let’s get in the bath and into some clothes that fit you, you can bunk with me tonight, sound alright?”

“Yeah.” Cas keened softly. He clung to Dean’s side as he stands and makes his way to the bathroom, where Sam has already begun putting away some of the stuff Dean bought. Sitting Cas on the stool, he stoppers the tub and turns on the water, checking every few seconds to see if it’s warm but not hot before pouring in some cotton candy smelling bubble bath.

He looked over his shoulder to see Cas sitting there, his eyes still swollen and red-rimmed but he’s intently watching the bath, excited looking almost. “Cas, are you okay?”

“I think so, my vessel seems drawn to the bubbles.” Dean chuckles.

“Of course, all little kids love bubble baths.” The water fills to about stomach level for Cas before Dean stops it and turns around to take off the Led Zeppelin shirt. “Alright, hang on, I’m going to get a change of clothes, and then we can get you in the tub. “ 

Running right into Sam, he rifles through the clothes that he had in his hands.

“Dean, I just folded these.”

“Yeah, well, mama, you can fold them again.” He pulled a nighttime onesie out and a pair of Spiderman underwear. 

“Dude, really, the bees?” Sam comments, looking at the onesie. Dean looks it over, it’s not terrible looking, a navy blue and yellow striped outfit that zips in the back. On the front is a large cartoon bee.

“Huh, weird, well, good thing Cas likes bees huh? Look, I didn’t really look at this stuff when I grabbed it, I pretty much just got one of everything I could find.” 

Sam rolled his eyes. “I can tell, half the shit you got is obviously for girls.” He put a hand on his hip. “I know we tease him a lot, but I don’t think he would like a glittery shirt that says Daddy’s Princess on it.” 

“What? I didn’t, I got like, blues, greens, and other male colors.” 

“Hello, Earth to Dean. It’s 2020, girls can like boy colors. You need to actually look at the clothes you buy. You also got the wrong size pull-ups, he’s too big for the ones you got.”

“Whatever Sammy, I’ll go exchange them with Cas tomorrow.” Dean finally huffed. “Can you just bring me one of the towels I bought in like, ten minutes?” 

“Fine, ya jerk,” Sam replies as he moves past Dean and into the new room they decided for Cas.

“Bitch!” Dean calls after him, a smile tugging at his lip. Back in the bathroom, he is relieved to see Cas still on the stool, sitting patiently. Lifting him he sets down the new clothes and lowers him in the water. “It okay? Not too hot?” 

“Yes, thank you, it feels nice,” Cas replies, his bottom finally hitting the tub. “My toes were getting cold, and I feel very tired.”

“You’ve had a big day.” Dean cupped his hands and wetted Cas’s hair. “Close your eyes and I’ll wash your hair.” 

Cas did as he was told and sat silently as Dean lathered his hair, rinsed it out, and washed all the sweat from his body. “What is the point of the duck at the end of the tub?”

“Impulse buy,” Dean replied. “I thought he looked funny in the store so, I bought him.” He grabbed the rubber duck, which looked to be wearing a fancy suit with a rubber top hat. “Looks like if old Abe Lincoln got turned into a duck.”

Cas narrowed his eyes. “A trick of Gabriel’s? He shouldn’t turn a former U.S. President into a duck.” Dean stopped and stared at Cas for a moment, the tiny furrow of his brow said he was serious. 

“No, its….” He shook his head. “Oh never mind, you are too adorable little bee.” He finished washing and rising off his body, and pulled him out of the tub just as Sam came in with a towel. Together, they patted him dry and got him dressed. Cas obviously liked the outfit and commented as such.

“Oh thank you, Miss Clifton,” Dean mumbled to himself as he zipped up the outfit and it fit Cas perfectly. There was a big yawn that escaped Cas’s mouth, and his eyes began to droop. “Come on, let’s get you put into bed, you need to recover from today.” 

Cas didn’t argue, he only silently held out his arms so Dean could lift him and hold him close to his chest, a gentle patting on his back, the elder Winchester brother’s heart beating away in Cas’s ear. 

“Out like a light.” Sam commented. Dean could only smile, he wouldn’t admit it aloud and you’d have to torture him in Hell for another forty years for him to even be somewhat willing, but he did enjoy being a big brother, whether it was to Sam or now to Cas. 


	3. Busy Bee

The Bracelets

Chapter 3: Busy Bee

That first night, Cas slept like a stone and didn’t wake until morning. Dean considered just taking the crib back and letting Cas sleep with him for the rest of the duration of however long this was going to take. 

Then Dean realized Cas liked to burrow in his sleep, his little hands and feet digging under him. When Sam did it as a child, it was fine, Dean was equally small and could fit himself under his brother.

But Cas, Cas was a different story. Dean sighed heavily and lifted Cas onto his stomach. “Cas, buddy, you’re digging into me.” 

“Mm, sorry.” His mouth smushed against Dean’s chest. Cuddled a lot as a fledgling.

“I can tell.” Dean lay his head back on the pillows, the new weight on his chest bringing him back to the realm of sleep, until tiny hands dug under his shirt and curled into his  _ not _ ticklish sides. Thankfully, they didn’t move anymore, and he could swallow the  _ not girly _ giggle that tried to erupt from his throat. 

“Aww, don’t you two look like a storybook family.” Sam’s mocking tone made Dean want to throw something at him. He continued his journey to the coffee pot, Cas hanging onto him like a baby koala. 

“Yeah, yeah. I will talk to you about this cuddle monster after my coffee.” Sweet, sweet caffeine, how did he ever survive without it? That’s what truly made Hell agonizing. No coffee for the tortured.

“Right,” Sam said as he flipped his tablet around. “Anyways, I did some research on Gabriel’s bracelets and indeed, according to folklore, the bracelets cannot be removed by anyone but the wearer. They can’t be cut, burned, or anything. If we cut off his hands, then that would work, but I think Cas needs those.”

“Yes, I would like to be able to continue using them.” He piped up as Dean set him down in the booster seat and buckled him in. “Sam, can I have eggs?” 

“Sure.” Sam stood and grabbed a bib from the kitchen counter, putting it on Cas before turning to the stove. “I also have some juice in that sippy cup for you.” He pointed to the blue and silver-colored plastic up on the table, covering in little puppy dogs. “Dean?”

Dean grunted and handed the cup to Cas who drank it greedily. “Okay, so, you’re saying, that Cas is stuck like this until he manages to yank them off his wrists? Why did Gabriel say they could come off anytime if they can’t?”

“Well according to one legend, only one other person had failed to pull them off as well.” He managed to finally pull them off after five years of being a ten-year-old again. 

“Did it say how he got them off, and why he was stuck?” Cas inquired.

“Nope, just that he put them back in the box and put the box on Loki’s altar with the quote “Surely a tricky God such as the great Loki, would enjoy such a tricky device.”” He shrugged and plated up the scrambled eggs, letting them cool down. “I don’t know, sounds weird and Gabriel couldn’t say how the bracelets fell into the hands of the Men of Letters. According to the catalog, which I suggest you reference next time Dean.” He got a one-finger salute. “The bracelets were tried on once by someone here, he was a teenager for a couple of hours before yanking them off, realizing that he would have to go through puberty again. They stored the box, waiting for a way to seal it permanently.” 

“Great.” Dean moaned, putting his mug back onto the table. “Well Cas, I guess, just every day, you tug on them, try to take them off.” 

“It could be because you’re an angel.” Sam suggested.

“Maybe,” Cas said. “But, we also don’t know if anything else was put on them by someone else, like a witch or the real Loki.” 

“Not much we can do then.” Dean stood and stretched. “Eat your eggs Cas, and then we can work on your room, so you have a place to sleep at night.”

“I can help?” Cas asked, almost too excitedly. Dean smirked.

“You can hold the instructions, if you can do that, I don’t know, we can go to the park or something.” 

Cas ate his eggs in record time and Sam went to collect some tools that would be needed. Dean got Cas cleaned up, and out of the booster seat before taking him to the bathroom. He showed him the toilet raining chair, how to use it properly, and that they would be putting pull-ups on him just in case he couldn’t make it to this particular bathroom in time. 

In the nursery, Dean had Cas pick out his own clothes. While he was small, he didn’t want him to think he had zero freedom to do what he wanted. 

“I’ve got everything I think we need. Dude.” Sam started as he walked in and saw Cas. “You can’t let him out like that.”

“Why not? He picked it out himself.”

Sam quirked an eyebrow. Cas was currently admiring himself in the mirror, the outfit he picked looked atrocious. He found a tan long-sleeve shirt that looked similar to his trench coat save for the giant green turtle on the front pocket, the only black pants were a random pair of winter pants which were too big and bulky, then he had black and yellow striped socks. “Dean, he will be too hot in that.” 

“Ugh, fine, you fashionista.” Dean huffed. “Cas, come on, let’s pick out something that won’t make you overheat.”

“Overheat? But the bunker is climate controlled.” Cas said as he looked at them in the mirror. 

“We know.” Sam interjected before Dean could say something.” But, remember, Dean is taking you to the store and maybe to the park if we have time. It’s the dead of summer and you’ll get very hot and very tired.” 

“Oh.” Cas hadn’t considered heat. “I suppose you are right.” Sam helped him out of the clothes and stored them away in their respective drawers before pulling out a pair of tan shorts and a red shirt with a Dalmatian puppy on it. 

“Here, what shoes would you like?” Dean asked as he pulled out a couple of pairs. “We have cowboy boots or the plain blue sneakers.”

“Really, cowboy boots?” 

“Shut it, Sammy.” Dean shot his brother a look. “Cowboys are cool, and I’ll be damned if I don’t see these things on a kid at least once in my life.” 

“With all due respect to the fashionable cowboys, I think I will take the blue shoes.” Cas interrupted. “Maybe, some other time perhaps.” Dean deflated a little but helped Cas into the sneakers which were held together with Velcro.

Cas was a perfect little helper in holding and reading the instruction to Dean and Sam when it came to putting together the crib and playpen for the main part of the bunker, that way Cas had an area to himself where he could still see the two brothers. When all was said and done, Sam said he was going to take a shower and Dean decided now would be the best time to head to the store. 

“Why can’t I sit up front?” Cas asked for the fifth time as Dean buckled him in. 

“Because, you buzzing little bee.” He pinched Cas’s cheek earning a swat and scowl. “You are a little kid, or at least you look like one, and the police don’t care if you are really an adult. The sooner we get the bracelets off, the sooner you can ride up front again.”

“Fine.” There goes that little lip again, poked out in an adorable pout. Dean smirked and got into the front seat, turned over the engine, and off they went. This time, Sam gave him a size for pull-ups and told him to get Cas toys. If he did act and think like a kid sometimes, it would be best to give him something he could do other than watch TV or read. 

What kind of toys did you get angels anyways?

“Hey, Cas, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?” The voice sounded so small and far away in the backseat. 

“What was your childhood like? Did you actually play and have fun before your training or what?”

“A bit of both I suppose. As you know, until he left, Father made new angels all the time. He started with the archangels, and they started as teenagers. Then, he got the idea to start us out as what humans would call toddlers to be taught from a young age our duties.” Cas looked out the window best he could. “Michael was in charge of training, flying, or weapons wise. Lucifer, before the cage, was in charge of showing us our duties, protecting the Earth and its creatures. Raphael was in charge of showing us how to heal, and Gabriel…well, I don’t know what he did. I suppose he kept us entertained mostly.” 

“Show off back then too huh?” Dean laughed. 

“Yes, of course. Anyways, once we could properly walk and our wings grew in, we started training. We knew how to speak from birth, so there was none of the baby talk human children have. We were taught to fly first, then taught our powers. Weapons training came at our young childhood years, about seven or eight.”

“Just like me and Sammy.” 

“Oh yes, the way hunters are raised, seems to mirror how angels were raised, save for a few differences.” Cas sighed. “Regardless, why do you ask?”

Dean sheepishly looked in the mirror. “Well, Sam told me I should get you some toys, and I was kind of lost on what to get you.”

“Anything is fine. I remember having things to play with, but I don’t think they would be considered toys as you know them. We had light and elements to manipulate, not plastics and wood.”

With a shrug, Dean pulled into the store parking lot. “Guess we’ll have to just see what piques your interest.” 

“Like you and the duck?”

“Hey, Lord Duckington is a member of this family.” He winked in the rearview mirror before getting out and opening the backdoor. Inside, they returned the things that Dean didn’t need, the girl clothes and incorrect sized pull-ups before heading off with a cart to the toy section. 

Dean didn’t expect much, Cas never got excited per se, sure he got interested in things but never like how he was at this moment. Every single piece of plastic in those aisles brought more joy to his cubby little face than Dean had ever seen on him. 

Of course, board games were a given. Army men, blocks with letters and numbers, a bunch of puzzles, bath toys, and washable pens were all in the cart before Dean could blink. If Cas picked it up, Dean melted and put it in.

Good thing Gabriel gave them so much money.

Then Cas saw it, well, actually, Dean saw it first. He rounded the corner, Cas in tow, to the stuffed animals area. Dean was content on skipping it when he remembered that Sam told him it was important for little kids to have a comfort object, especially if they were upset.

So he turned and went down, feeling a bit uneasy at all the toys with their beady little eyes staring at him. Demons, he could handle. That over-stuffed walrus with the bent whiskers, glaring at him, not so much. 

Then, close to the end cap with little gag toys was a stuffed bee, nearly spherical instead of the usual elongated bean look that Dean thought bees should look like. It has a stuffed stinger, stitched in wings on its back, and three fat black stripes dotting its fuzzy yellow body. Its face only held black dots for eyes, thankfully not made of buttons or a plastic piece that Cas could accidentally swallow. 

Cas saw it too and the high pitch sequel he let out could have put any woman right into baby fever. He dashed to it and grabbed it, hugging it close. It had no mouth, but even Dean could see it smiling as Cas hugged it with as much love as he could muster.

“Dean, Dean, Dean! This, I need this!”

Dean leaned on the handle of the cart and smiled. “You need it huh? Well, since it is such a mighty need, I think we should get it.”

Cas and his bees. 

They hit the baby section after and picked up the correct pull-ups and then let Cas pick out some clothes that would suit his tastes. Dean went ahead and picked up some groceries. Check out was a little bumpy with Cas unwilling to let go of his new bee friend to be scanned, but the woman was nice and had Dean hold up his charge so she could use her handheld scanner.

“So, what are you going to name him?”

“I name him?” Cas asked. “Bees don’t usually have names.”

“Well, yes,” Dean replied, buckling the last buckle on the car seat. “But, this is a stuffed bee, meant to be played with and loved, so they get names. I had a stuffed dog once, I named him Spot.” He frowned. “Then dad used him as target practice, but still, I liked him until I grew out of it.”

“Nothing against John, but why did he use a stuffed animal as target practice?”

“Don’t know, but don’t worry. Your buzzy bee will not be getting the same from my .45.” He tapped Cas on the nose. “So, come up with a name.”

“Beezy.” The voice startled him. Dean was sure that Cas had fallen asleep with how quiet he had become. He looked up into the rearview mirror. 

“Come again?”

The bee was held up. “I named him Beezy, well, he named himself. Quite the talker he is, told me his whole life story before giving up his name.”

“Oookay then. Beezy it is.”

That night, Dean watched from the dark doorway as Cas snuggled against Beezy, falling asleep rather quickly. He chuckled and shit the door slightly, so the hall lights could still filter in. Sam was leaned against a wall, smirking at his older brother. Dean felt his cheeks grow pink. “What?”

“Nothing.” Sam smiled. “Just seeing you enjoy being a father figure brings me joy.”

“Hey, Cas is our friend, not my son.”

Holding up his hands Sam pushed off from the wall. “Sure, that’s why you bought him the entire toy aisle.” He laughed as Dean punched his arm.

“Shut up Sammy. You like being an Uncle.”

“Never said I didn’t, ya jerk.”

“Bitch.” Dean smiled and bade his brother a goodnight. Crawling into bed, he let the exhaustion wash over him. This was going to be a weird and hard road for all of them but they were a family and could stick together. 

The bed dipped as something was trying to crawl up it. Dean sat up and flicked on the light, which startled Cas, who was furiously trying to climb up onto the bed with only one hand, Beezy in the other. He started to fall back with a cry, not willing to let go of the bee to hold onto the bed, Dean dove forward and barely caught him before he fell.

Which lead him to becoming a crumpled heap on the floor, holding a toddler version of Cas aloft and a stuffed bee in his face. 

“Beezy got lonely and said we should sleep with you.” Cas’s voice in the dark made Dean want to groan. 

Sure, Beezy got lonely. With a sigh, he got up and lay back down, tucking Cas and Beezy in. Dean knew that by the end of this, his side was never going to be the same with Cas digging his hands and feet under him.

He figure it was his tired state that made him decide that he didn’t mind in the least. 


	4. The Terrible Two...Millions?

The Bracelets

Chapter 4: The Terrible Two... Millions?

_ Note: There will be a brief but semi-graphic depiction of a wound. It will be noted with *** at the beginning and end of the text block if you wish to skip it.  _

Why was he acting like this? No one could really tell, but it was getting on Dean and Sam’s last nerves. 

It started a week after the bracelets were put on, Cas was getting upset at the slightest of things. Sam proposed that it was simply the reality of the situation that finally hit him. He could be right, but it wasn’t an excuse for all the tantrums.

He couldn't use his grace properly. Threw a tantrum. 

“He nearly blew a hole in the ceiling, Sam!”

He couldn't use his wings. Threw a tantrum

“Fledglings younger than I can fly Dean! I’m, I'm like that baby in a trench coat.”

He was tired all the time and had to have help just getting dressed. Threw a tantrum that made Michael and Lucifer’s fight in the Alternate universe look like a slap fight.

Sometimes he was okay, but got startled easily and went into hysterics. When Gabriel came back to check in on them, from where, no one knew, probably some remote tropical island with ladies everywhere, Cas had let out an inhuman screech that shattered the glassware in the kitchen and proceeded to throw every object in his range, which happened to be a set of building blocks. 

In the end, after a cry session and some time spent sobbing over Dean’s shoulder, Cas was out like a light and Sam had to coax Gabriel to come out of the cabinet in the kitchen. 

Dean removed the earplugs and walked over with a scowl on his face. “Why is he like this? He’s so angry and upset all the time.”

Gabriel smoothed back his hair. “Don't look at me, I told you, the bracelets will affect his mind when he is in a bad mood or upset. Just then, that was a regular temper tantrum powered by an ancient angel who has seen more shit than an outhouse at a greasy truck stop.”

“We are aware of that.” Dean sighed heavily. “Okay, okay, so what can we do? I don't have experience with this. Like, Sam, I could just whack upside the head, and he’d stop.”

“Yeah, little surprised I’m not brain-damaged.” Sam teased, earning a glare from his brother.

“Regardless,” Gabriel interjected before the brothers could start squabbling. “You two will just have to grin and bear it. He tsked. Castiel was always such a sweet fledgling and never cried. This, this was frightening, even for me, and I helped battle the Darkness the first time around.” 

“Well, let’s lay the hellraiser down and try to figure something out. I can’t take anymore screaming. “

What was he, a soccer mom? He and Sam spent hours looing over not lore books or how to kill guides, but over parenting websites. Dean even made a fake Facebook account and got signed up on the mommy pages on Facebook.

“Well, super moms ‘R’ us said that Cas just might be dealing with the terrible twos.”

“But, he’s like, physically four.” 

Dean nodded. “Yeah, they said that while it is called the terrible twos, it can continue into early childhood.” He quoted one of the moms. “You have to be patient, little ones need lots of love, affection, and reassurance that you’ll be there for them. Eventually, they will grow out of it.” Honestly, it just sounds like Cas just wants our attention.”

Sam stood from his chair and stretched. “Well, he’s got it. I don’t know, maybe we should do more, family things with him?”

“Sammy, I love you, but what makes you think I know anything about family things?”

Putting his hands on his hips Sam rolled his eyes and said. “Dean, you spent an entire year being “normal”. Surely you know how to do, father-son things.”

Grumbling Dean put his head into his arms. “Look, Lisa did most of the family time planning. Ben, I couldn’t ever really connect with, not personally at least. He was a good kid, but, I don’t know.”

“Well, our childhood prohibiting, what do you think normal parents do?” 

“Hmm…go to the lake?” 

Sam blinked in surprise but smiled nonetheless. “Pretty good idea, you sure you’re not fit to be a father?”

Dean stood and playfully shoved Sam. “Shut it and pack a picnic, I’ll get angel of the morning up.” 

*****HylianHeroine2*****

Well, the lake idea had been a bust. Cas’s eyes welled up with tears as Dean read the closed for renovation sign at the public entrance. 

“Hey, buddy, no, no tears.” He really didn’t need Baby’s windows shattered out. He chewed his lip, trying to think as the whimpering in the back got louder, Sam had reached over to try and comfort him.

It worked, for a moment.

Long enough for Dean to shit out an idea. “I got it! The next town over has a water park with a playground attached.”

Sam and Dean breathed a sigh of relief as Cas settled down. “That sounds fun, let’s go.”

The waterpark wasn’t as packed as Dean thought that it would be, sure there were kids and adults all around, but not many. 

It made it easy to ease Cas into the water. Apparently, the angel had never been in a body of water bigger than a bathtub and clung to Sam for dear life as he stepped into the 3-foot section. 

The water barely crested Sam’s hips when he sat down, and the moment that Cas touched the water, he smiled and started to play.

All three of them played and swam around, Cas even allowing Sam to take him out to the deep end and float. 

Said that it was the closest thing to flying he had experienced save for actually flying. 

When the sun reached a lower point to signify evening was coming and all of their stomachs started to growl, they left and went to the nearby playground and had the picnic that Sam packed, enjoying the sweet fruits and sandwiches that Cas could easily bite into. 

It was almost peaceful really. When they finished eating, Sam lay down on the blanket and closed his eyes, Cas running his toy cars over his stomach and legs.

Too freaking cute.

“Cas, come here.” Dean lay on his back after sliding off his boots. “Do you want to fly?”

The look he gave had Dean melting. “You can make me fly?”

“Sort of. Come here.” Standing Cas at his feet, he put them on his stomach, grabbed his hands, and lifted him off the ground, the shriek of joy pulling at heartstrings. “Hell yeah, there we go Cas! Look, you’re flying again!”

“I am!” He giggled and looked down at Dean. “When I get big again, I need to take you flying.” 

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Cas held out a pinky and Dean took it, smiling that Cas remembered the concept of a pinky promise. 

Sam sat up, holding his phone, not that Dean cared in that moment. “Alright, guys, I’m going to pack the car and head to find a convenience store. Shouldn’t be long.” 

“Alright, I’m going to let him play. Met back here in an hour?”

Dean leaned back on the bench, Cas looked joyful for once in the past few days. He was running and even giggling about as he played with the other children. Beezy could clearly be seen as he zoomed across the wooden play place and down the plastic slides. Dean looked down at his phone as it went off, Sam had sent him the picture he took. 

The bitch. 

“Dean, did you see, I almost flew!” He called over, the sweet tone making a smile tug at Dean’s lips. Dammit, he needed to do something to feel manly again after this, go chop down a tree by himself or something. He waved to Cas and sighed, putting his chin on his hand.

“Oh, he’s a little cutie.” A woman said as she sat next to him. 

“Yeah, little bugger has been in a bad mood for a few days now, thought the park would cheer him up.” 

The woman nodded. “Oh, I understand that, my three little ones get so anxious and hyper being cooped up in the house. How old is he?” 

“Four, though sometimes, he acts likes he’s eons old.” Dean grinned at his own little joke before looking at his watch. It was getting late, and he and Sam still had a case file to go through. Reports of a pack of Djinn in the next county over had him itching to hunt. It was nice meeting you. 

“Layla.” The woman said. Dean gave her his trademark smile.

“Layla, I better go collect my wayward son and head on out. Maybe I’ll get to see you soon out here, again?”

“I hope so. I like a man who is good with kids.” She winked and let him be on his way. 

“Alright, Cas, time to go home, Uncle Sam is probably on his way back and Gabriel said he might stop by for dinner.” 

“So?” That one little sound made his eye twitch. It was the sound that headed off a tantrum when Cas didn’t get his way. “I want to play.”

“I get that, but you have played and swam for close to four hours now, surely you must be tired and ready for bed.”

“No.” Cas stuck his tongue out and then darted off, the wooden playset squeaking as he ran. Dean put his hands on his hips.

“Cas, I am not playing around, come on, let’s go.” Some of the parents around were giving him sympathetic stares and he could feel his cheeks getting red. Come on, he handled Sam for years, his dad when he was acting childish and Hell, even Cas when he was fully human. 

Of course, it was easy to get him to behave as an adult, all he had to do was get him wasted and Cas did whatever he asked of him.

But, beer would not work on tiny Cas, and his light up sneakers were the only indication of where he had gone. Dean tried one last time.

“Cas, I am giving you till the count of three, then I will be going up there and collecting you myself.”

The angel watched him, his eyes almost glowing in the last of the twilights embers. He held up a finger.

“One.”

Still no movement.

“Two!”

A rude little finger popped up over Beezy’s head. “No.” Was his flat statement.

Ooh, that angel of his. “That’s it! Three!” He grabbed one of the beams holding up the little bridge and pulled himself up, his boots clunking heavily on the worn wood. Cas had started down a slide, his pursuer groaning internally. He ran over to the slide and tried to go down, his adult-sized hips getting stuck. “Castiel Winchester! I’m going to tan your hide when I catch you!”

Now running across the yard to the swings, Cas giggled in his game of chase, not caring about the consequences. He turned to see if Dean had managed to eradicate himself from the slide when he tripped on the wood beams that were used to keep all the woodchips in the play area. He put his hands out to catch himself and sliced his hand open on a rouge nail.

Dean lifted himself out of the plastic prison just in time to hear the scream. He bolted over, other parents coming to Cas’s aid as well. Sliding on his knees, he pulled Cas into his chest and looked at the wound. 

***

It was deep, very deep. Blood flowed to the surface, bits of dirt, wood, grass, and who knows what else floated in the wound. The excess skin of his palm hanging on by nary a thread. He had managed to catch the exact center of his hand, and with his limited grace, it would take days to heal on its own. It didn’t even cover the bacteria that might have been on the nail. 

It would need stitches and he didn’t feel comfortable enough to do it himself, not with how Cas squirmed. Without a second thought, he ripped part of his shirt and wrapped it around Cas’s hand. Blood stained his clothes and even Beezy. 

***

“Shh, Cas, I got you, I got you.” He stood up, the collective parents around him offering advice and even to call emergency services. He declined and said he had to get to his car and the hospital. Loading Cas in the car seat was hard, he cried and whined, wanting to be held instead. Dean whipped out his phone and called Sam.

“Hey, I’m almost done, you two done playing?”

“Sam, listen, Cas got hurt, I’m headed your way now, he’s going to need stitches.”

“Oh crap, okay. I’m at the dollar store down the street.” 

“Be there in five.” Dean took one last look at Cas in the backseat before turning the ignition and flooring it. 


	5. Mending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter actually has mentions of my own Supernatural OC's. ;)

The Bracelets

Chapter 5: Mending 

A woman over the P.A system called for a doctor, but Dean barely heard it. He stared down at Cas who was resting in Sam’s arms. The blood loss and getting his hand stitched back together was too much for him and he passed out, exhausted from the day’s events. Gabriel had snapped to the hospital as soon as Sam called him.

“You got stuck in a slide?” Gabriel nearly laughed but Dean ignored him. He felt terrible, Cas got hurt under his watch. He’d had nails in his extremities before and he knew how bad tetanus could get. He’d be dammed before he let Cas get that infection.

He could handle ghosts, vampires, demons, and even the occasional zombie. But hearing Cas cry like that, in genuine pain, broke his heart. 

He was a shit parent, even to his friend. 

“Alright, well, we should keep him for observation for a few hours, let him rest and see how he is responding to the medication.” The doctor, the one that Dean didn’t bother to get a name from, said as he looked over Cas’s chart. “The stitches can come out in a week or so, granted he doesn’t try to pull them out.” 

“He won’t.” Dean bluntly replied. “I’ll make sure of it.” 

“Okay, that’s good news. Hit the nurse’s button if you need anything, and I’ll be back in an hour or so to re-check on him.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Sam replied since Dean wasn’t going to be polite. He turned as soon as the doctor left. “Dean, you can’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Cas got hurt on my watch. That was a nasty cut and-” He choked up before turning away from the bed. “I’m going to get coffee.” 

“Want me to talk to him?” Gabriel asked. 

“Nah. Let him cool off.” Sam looked down at Cas asleep. “He gets strangely protective over Cas, even as an adult and he always hated seeing children in pain.”

“I understand him on that.” Gabriel popped a sucker into his mouth and offered one to Sam who declined. “I’m going to head down to the cafeteria, see if I can’t snag something sweet.” He wiggled his brows. “Want anything?”

“If you’re implying a girl, no thank you.” 

“Suit yourself.” With that, Gabriel was gone. With a sigh, Sam lay back on the bed, careful to keep Cas in a comfortable position as to not disturb his rest.

Dean came back twenty minutes later, still cursing himself. Coffee had taken the edge off of his worries, but he wouldn’t be one hundred percent okay until Cas was fully healed and smiling again. The look of panic on his face shook Dean to his core. 

It was obvious that Cas had never expected pain like that before. Sure, he had been blown up, stabbed with an angel blade, and beaten by Naomi and her punk bodyguards.

But, those were as an adult, as an angel, one who had seen war countless times and a thousand times more. Little kid Cas was much more sensitive to touch and pain. He nearly kicked a wall in his anger as he rounded into the hospital room.

Sam was on the bed, sleeping, his arm wrapped protectively around a lump.

A lump that wasn’t Cas, it was a pillow. He dropped the coffee he was holding and shook Sam awake.

*****HylianHeroine2*****

Cas slid from Sam’s arms and onto the floor below them. He woke up bored. Dean was gone, and Sam was asleep. He vaguely remembered there was a play area for kids that they passed on the way to the emergency room. He grabbed Beezy, his blood having been cleaned off, and made his way out of the room. He’d be back before Sam woke up, he was sure of it. 

The nurses were very busy and didn’t see him walking past the desks and didn’t see him escape out the doors when someone walked through them. With his new freedom, he looked at all the signs on the walls and made his way to an indoor garden where the play area was. It was close to the pediatric ward and lots of kids, both sick and healthy would come out here to play. Gripping Beezy tight he opened the door to the area and walked in. 

Since it was late in the evening, Cas figured there wasn’t going to be many kids playing, which was fine by him, he didn’t like crowded areas. Being this small, he usually got shoved and ignored. 

A girl with long blonde hair was playing hopscotch with a boy. “Look Gabriel, I made it!” Cas smiled. He liked it when humans used angel names. Though, Gabriel, not a good choice for an upstanding young man. 

“Way to go Charity!” He responded. “I bet you can get way more hops in that Stella or Ashlynn!”

Cas turned his attention to the swings. An older girl was pushing a much younger girl on the swings. “Higher Deanna, higher!”

“Hang on Samara, you’re going to the moon!” 

Heh, Dean, and Sam as girls. Cute. Cas then looked to the bars, where a young girl, no older than he looked was trying fruitlessly to climb up on a bar. 

Why she stood out, he didn’t know but he did want to talk to her. Her short red hair was almost shaved and she looked very pale, just by getting close he could tell she was very sick. Hello.

The girl jumped and looked up. “Oh, hi! Are you here to play on the monkey bars?” He nodded. “That’s great, can you help me up?”

“Yes, I can.” He walked over and helped push her up onto the bars so she could sit. “Are you sure you should be up there? You don’t look very secure.”

She shrugged. “My daddy says I shouldn’t, but mommy told me I can do anything cause I’m a superhero.” She flipped back, her legs hooked on the bar. “What’s your name?”

“Castiel.”

“Oh, sounds weird. What are you in for?”

He held up his hand to show the stitches. “I was running and tripped on something, scrapping my hand on a nail. What is your name?”

“Merida.” She grinned. “Mommy liked the movie a lot and had named me after the heroine.” 

Cas sat Beezy down gently and climbed up next to her. “Why? She is a cartoon, nothing spectacular.” Merida shrugged again. 

“I guess the fate thing from the movie. Mommy said she liked the message and wanted me to follow it, don’t let fate choose your path or somethin’.”

Looking around, he didn’t see any adults that looked like her. “Where is your mother?”

She pointed to the ceiling with her foot. “Up there.”

Cas looked up. The only floor above them was floor fourteen. “Floor fourteen?”

Merida giggled and pulled herself up. “No silly, in Heaven, she’s an angel now. She had the same thing I got and left to go run Heaven. Least that’s what daddy says.”

“That’s not how that works.” He furrowed his brow. “Heaven for mortal souls is just memories, living your best and happiest memories over and over. She also certainly wouldn’t be running things as an angel, angels don’t get to sit on the throne.” 

“How do you know?” She asked, sounding offended. “Daddy is never wrong.” 

“Well, he is. It’s a common misconception that souls become angels, but they don’t.” Cas looked over and felt a pang in his chest. She looked a little hurt at what he said. He didn’t want her thinking things that were false though. “Trust me, I’m an angel and I know how it is run up there.” 

Merida got down and crossed her arms. “No you’re not, you’re just a kid, like me.”

“Yes, I am. I can prove it!”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, how?”

Cas slid from the bar and took her hands. “I can heal your cancer.” Merida ripped her hands from his. “How did you know I had that?”

“I just said.” He sighed. “Why does no one believe me when I say what I am?” He held out his hands again. “Please, I can do it.” 

She studied him intently but slowly nodded and took his hands. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Normally this would only take a second, but the bracelets kept his grace at bay, preventing him from healing. He felt sweat on his brow as he concentrated. He could do this.

“Merida!” A man called.

“Castiel, that’s my daddy, I have to go.”

“No. Wait, I can do this!” He could see his grace swirling, and slowly running down his arms to his hands, pushing against the trickster magic in the bracelets. 

“Merida?” His voice got closer. “Come along Merida, it’s time to go back to your room.” A tall man walked up to them. He held out his hand expectantly. 

Merida looked up from Cas’s hands and smiled softly. “It’s okay. Daddy says my treatments are working.”

Cas furrowed his brow. “No, hang on, please.” His grace tickled at his fingers, he had to force it to bypass his own wound and into her. Squeezing his eyes harder he grunted a little, the bracelets wanted to block it, but he was stronger than any trick of Gabriel’s. 

He felt her, her soul. She was bright, like Sam and Dean were. She was destined for great things, and this made the arduous process easier. Like watching the cracks in a broken plate get filled in with gold, his silvery grace filled in her broken body and healed her.

He stumbled back with an exhausted whimper, his bottom making contact with the floor. Merida helped him back up and grinned.

“I feel it. Thank you.” She turned to the man. “Daddy! Castiel is an angel and he fixed me!”

The man chuckled. “Is that so sweetheart?” He knelt and shook hands with Cas. “Well, thank you, little man, she means more to me than anything else in this world. Come along sweetie, let’s go back up to your room, we can see the doctor right away.” 

He obviously sounded like he was kidding, but Cas knew he had fixed her. He watched them walk away, proud.

“Cas?!” Dean called for him when he finally found him. He scooped him up from behind and held him out to scold him. “What is with you and running off? Sam is in there beside himself thinking someone took you.”

“I am sorry.” He replied, eyes downcast. “For everything.”

“Pardon me?” Dean quirked an eyebrow. “I thought the great Castiel doesn’t apologize.”

“He does when he needs too.” Cas sighed, holding out his hands, wanted to be held. Dean obliged and pulled him in close. “I have been a brat lately and I took it out on you and Sam, even Gabriel and all you three are trying to do is help me.” 

Dean sighed as he began to walk back into the main part hospital. “Well yeah, but you’re little right now, it’s be expected. If you’re done being a brat, for now, we can move on.” 

Cas nodded. “I am, I was reminded out there that some other children don’t get to be brats like I can.”

“The girl I saw with her father?”

“Yes, her name is Merida.”

“What, like Disney?”

“Pixar, but yes.” Cas sighed. “She had cancer and I used my grace to heal her.” Dean stopped to hold him aloft again. 

“What? No, Gabriel said it was dangerous to use your grace on anyone or anything. Your vessel is small and can’t hold your normal amount of power.” He furrowed his brow and put his forehead to Cas’s. “You can’t help everyone, not like this.” 

Little fingers ran along Dean’s cheek. “I know, and I will be more careful in the future, but I think it was good for me. A pressure valve if you will.” 

“If you say so, just, don’t exhaust yourself.” 

“Doctor Hardwick to Children’s ward, Doctor Hardwick to Children’s ward.” A voice over the P.A. sounded. Cas looked up to the intercom system above them. 

“We should go, I suspect that is Merida’s father fainting after seeing the cancer gone.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Dean put him on his hip and powerwalked back to the emergency room to collect Sam. 

“You what?” Sam looked in the back.

“I healed her Sam, I didn’t stutter, why do you keep asking me what I did?”

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head.” Cas, I…I didn’t mean, oh never mind. My point is you really shouldn’t have used your grace. You know what Gabriel said.”

“I know,” Cas replied, stroking Beezy in his lap like he was the Don of some gang. “But, she had a bright future and I wanted to help at least one person. As long as I don’t overdo it, I think I can use a little of my grace once a week to relieve the pressure on me, small things.”

Dean adjusted the rearview mirror. “Just, be careful little bee, Sam and I care about you, and we don’t want you hurt again.” 

“I will, I promise.” He held out his pinky, which Sam took, then hooked his other hand with Dean’s.

“It’s a promise.” 


	6. A Hunting We Will Go

The Bracelets

Chapter 6: A Hunting We Will Go.

Dean sang along to the radio quietly as he sped down the road, the wipers bringing in a harmonious rhythm to the music. Both Sam and Cas were asleep, and they still had a few good hours until they hit Alabama, and then a few more until they reached Mobile.

The case sounded like a classic haunting in a house, just a salt and burn and then they were done, take in a few sights for Cas, and then head back to the bunker for some R&R.

Cas begged to go, and since they didn’t have a babysitter, Dean agreed as long as he stayed in the motel. He looked in the back and smiled, Cas had his face mushed against the side of the car seat and Beezy tight in his arms. Each time they passed a street light, the bracelets seemed to glow on his wrists. 

Honestly, he could strangle Gabriel, seriously, who thinks of de-aging bracelets? Then again, he did enjoy being a semi-parent to Cas. He didn’t know how it went up in Heaven, but from what Cas said, it was a pretty poor childhood. 

Maybe this was another chance. 

“Two Queens and can I have a child’s cot.” Dean slapped down some of the money Gabriel gave them. The man at the counter nodded and signed him in before handing him a key.

“I’ll bring the cot in a few minutes.”

“Perfect, thank you.” Dean waved over his shoulder and went back out to the Impala, moving it to their door before getting back out and opening the side door to wake Sam. “Hey, we’re here, wake up Samshine.”

“I hate that name,” Sam mumbled, rubbing his eyes and rolling his neck. “Cas still asleep?”

“Yeah, he’s is out.” Dean looked up. “I think he’s going to be out all night.”

“Sweet. I don’t think I could have handled another night of Teletubbies.”

“I know, shitty motel didn’t have Scooby-Doo.” Dean scoffed. “Last time we stay there.”

“That’s not what I meant Dean.” Sam got out and stretched his back and legs as Dean went for the back and collected Cas from his seat, putting his coat over his head to protect him from the drizzle still coming down.

“Don’t you say a word.” Dean hissed when he looked up to see Sam holding up his phone again.

“Wasn’t going to, just a sound.” Sam teased. Then his phone camera clicked. 

“Beezy is getting wet.” Cas mumble under Dean’s jacket, ending the exchange between the brothers. 

Inside, Sam set down their bags and Dean gently lay Cas down into one of the beds. “Cas, they should be bringing you a cot, but until then, go ahead and rest up okay?”

Cas nodded, pulling Dean’s jacket around him tighter and snuggling into Beezy. Dean nodded and then turned to Sam.

“Give me that freakin’ phone.” 

Dean stared at the house with deadly intent. This was so unfair. “Sam, how are we to be taken seriously with a toddler strapped to my chest?”

Sam bit his lip, trying so hard not to laugh. Last night, they decided to do their usual thing, investigate, talk to locals, and find out if it was a ghost. Then, boom, fix the issue, gank the spirit. 

The problem was they couldn’t leave Cas all day at the motel. He would get bored and didn’t like to listen very well.

Sam thought it best to pose as two reporters, looking into local legends and go straight to the house. The house, Stanford’s Haunted House, supposedly a year-round attraction for Halloween enthusiasts that didn’t like to wait until October for a good scare. No real harm occurred other than the tacky fake skeletons and peeled grapes for eyeballs.

Then, people started to get hurt, with the victims getting their fingers smashed in before their heads came off. 

Simple enough job, and simple enough story to get in and talk to the owner of the attraction. Except for the toddler on his chest.

“Dean, if you are worried I can be a reporter too.”

Oh, kill him now. “Cas, how could you be a reporter as a toddler strapped to my chest?”

Cas tilted his head back to look up at Dean. “I could be Reporter Beyoncé and Beezy could be Reporter Beyhive.” 

It took Sam ten minutes to finish laughing as Dean questioned all his life choices that lead to this moment. If he could go back in time he would have pinched himself for giving those bracelets to Cas he would.

The owner, Mr. Stanford, looked at them funny when they walked in. “Can I help you, two…three gentlemen?” He asked as he eyed Cas in the carrier.

Dean put on his best smile. “Yes, my name is Steve Kerr and this is my partner Erik Lawton, reporters for Weekly World News, were doing a piece on local legend in Alabama and we heard you had a pretty interesting one in this house.” He held up his fake badge as Sam did his.

“Uhh, yes.” Stanford blinked in surprise. “Yes, we do, but...may I ask, why you have a child strapped to your chest?”

Sam drew in a sharp intake of breath as he bit the inside of his cheek. Dean gave an awkward smile. “It’s bring your kid to work day, you know, to boost morale.”

“Uh-huh, well then. Didn’t think they did that kind of thing anymore.” 

“Unfortunately they do and the Missus wanted a day off.” Sam nearly giggled and Dean had to stomp on his foot.

“Well, that was useless.” Dean huffed as he got back into the car. All they had got from the guy was the first owner was a man named Joseph Thibodeaux but he died back in the early ’30s and then his son inherited the house, abandoned it and it went through only two more owners until it fell into the current owner’s hands.

Sam shrugged. “Sometimes they don’t know anything about the history of their house. Guess we just have to dig deeper.” He pulled out his tablet and started to type. “So, according to local archives, the house was renovated back in the early 90’s for the funhouse attraction, but the attacks didn’t start to happen until three months, since then it’s been an attack every other week. Only three fatalities so far, but plenty of smashed fingers. Police had called them all freak accidents.”

“Yeah, well, we know it ain’t accidents.” 

“Can I have some input?” Cas said from the backseat. Dean turned.

“Sure buddy, what do you got?”

“Well, as he questioned you on your parenting skills I saw in the backroom a hammer that was out of place.” 

“Might have just been doing some housework.”

“Well, it started to float on its own and I didn’t see any strings.” Dean and Sam looked at one another. 

“Sounds good enough for me.”

“Same here.” Dean turned over the ignition and drove off. “We’ll see if we can find anything on Mr. Finger Smasher in the old obituaries and find a gravestone.” 

“Then we check out the house to see if the spirit is still there after.” Cas piped up from the back. Sam and Dean shared a look.

“Cas.” Sam started.

“This is going to be so much fun, I haven’t been hunting with you two since weeks before the bracelets.” He swing his legs in his car seat, excited.

Oh boy. With a heavy sigh, he drove towards a fast food joint to soften the blow that Cas was going to receive later. He wasn’t going to be happy.

*****HylianHeroine2*****

Dean glared down at his barely two-foot tall adversary. “I said no, and that’s final!”

Cas puffed out his cheeks. “I can help! You said yourself it’s just a salt and burn, it should be easy and safe for me to go!”

“I swear, you are the most stubborn angel turned child I have ever met.” Dean growled out. “It may just be a simple salt and burn, but you are little, and I will not have you getting hurt.” He shoved his finger into Cas’s face. “Now, you will stay here, watch TV, play with toys or sleep, I don’t care, but you will be staying in this motel room or you will not like the consequences. Now park that hind end in a chair or something before I tear you a new one.”

There was a little stomp of the shoe, which was damped by a squeak from said shoe, but it got the point across. Cas was not happy. He grabbed Beezy from the bed and stomped over to one of the chairs.

“Good.” Dean adjusted his jacket and walked out the door to finish packing. Sam sighed and went over to comfort Cas. 

“Hey, we’ll be back before you know it, then we can go see the city tomorrow and have a day out, sound fun?”

Cas poked out his lip but nodded. “Yes, Sam.” He looked to the door. “You always were the more reasonable brother.” 

“I heard that!” Sam only laughed and left for the bathroom.

Dean shut the trunk and got into the driver’s seat, Sam walked out a moment later and got in. “You know, I feel bad but I can’t handle seeing him get hurt again.”

“I understand Dean, you don’t need to explain yourself. With those big eyes and adorable cheeks, it’s almost too easy to forget that a grumpy old man lives in that head.” 

“Right, now, let’s go find those damn bones and get this over with.” 

Pulling up to the cemetery they grabbed their supply bag and shovels and got to work. Thankfully Joseph did have a gravestone and his bones were ready to be dug up and burned. They chatted like they normally did as they dug, and Dean smashed in the pinewood box.

“Hello, finger destroyer, ready to burn?” He asked. The bones didn’t answer, but then again, they never did. Sam handed him a canister of salt and they both set to work as one salted and the other did gasoline.

Crawling out, Dean lit the match and the grave went up in flames. As they watched the flames lick the ground and air Sam hummed deep in his throat.

“What’s up?”

He turned, tapping his fingers along the wood of the shovel. “It’s been bugging me, spirits usually attack during renovations, or something sets them off. Renovations started in the ’90s, but the attacks didn’t start until pretty recently and I didn’t see anything that would have set it off, nor did I pick up any cursed objects with the EMF.”

“That is true, guess we’ll have to see if he’s still home after.” 

Dean picked the lock as Sam disabled the alarm panel. “Anybody home?” Dean called out. “Joseph? You here?” He cocked his salt rounds and entered the dwelling. All was quiet and still.

Rarely a good sign, but wasn’t terribly bad either in some cases. 

“Alright, let’s sweep for EMF and go from there.” The boys went down one hall, carefully going through the attraction. Since everything was turned off for the night, they didn’t have to deal with jump scare machinery or annoying strobe lights.

They finished both the ground level floor and the basement and found nothing, satisfied that the spirit was gone, and no more injuries or deaths would occur, they left and got back into the car. “See, what did I tell you, simple salt and burn. Easy as pie.”

“Heh, yeah.” Sam leaned back in the seat and sighed. “Honestly, I was expecting much worse, most cases are never that simple.”

“Let’s take our victories where we can. Hopefully, by the time we get back, Cas will be asleep and we can just hit the hay, avoid a tantrum.” He drove off, not seeing Beezy strapped into the car seat behind him. 

“Cas? Where are you little bee?” Dean called as he opened the door. The light was still on, so he had to be up and awake. He looked around, not seeing the mop-top of black hair anywhere. “Come on, don’t be angry with me.”

“Dean!” Sam raced in holding Beezy. “I found this in the backseat.”

Dammit Cas. 

They raced back to the house, Dean kicking in the door. Oh, that boy was in so much trouble. “Castiel!” He shouted. “Where are you?” 

“Dean!?” A panicked shout came from down in the basement. Sam wrenched open the door and they scrambled down the steps and into the dark, guns drawn. Cas was tied to a chair, his wrist buckled down and someone standing next to him in the dark.

“Hello boys, looks like you left something here Mr. Kerr. Or should I say, Winchester?” Stanford smiled menacingly at them, holding a hammer in his hands. 

“Get the hell away from him you sick freak.” Dean shouted as he aimed his gun. Stanford tsked.

“Now, now boys, I’m only repaying the favor. You took away my number one attraction and so I think it’s only fair I take this child away from you.” He ran a finger along Cas’s face, who struggled and wiggled, trying to get away. “Or angel somehow in a child’s body, isn’t he usually taller, in a trench coat?” 

“What do you mean repay the favor? How did you know who we are?” Sam asked, trying to give Dean time to covertly circle around. 

Stanford shrugged. “Granddaddy told me lots of things. The spirit world can be a plethora of information, granted you know who to ask.”

Dean narrowed his eyes. “So, you know the house was haunted.” 

“Yep. I did.” He smiled. “See, when my daddy abandoned the house, it fell into disarray and granddaddy was sorely upset. I finally bought it back, having found that granddaddy and I had lots in common. He liked hurting people, I liked hurting people.” He brought the hammer down, dangerously close to Cas’s fingers. He squeaked and tried to curl them in. “Well, I like scaring them a little more. I set up an Ouija board, talked to him and we came to a compromise. I got to fix up the house, get a little money off of it, then he could get to work, killing people. Police would just chalk it up to freak accidents. Of course, I did the heavy stuff, breaking the fingers to little nosy brats that tried to come in after hours. He chopped off heads.”

Sam pursed his lips. “So when we burned your grandfather’s bones.”

Stanford nodded. “Poof, he was gone. I kept telling him to let me attached his spirit to an object so we could move to different locations but he was always a stubborn old codger. Oh well, more fun for me before I get killed myself.”

“And what makes you so sure that we’ll let you hurt Cas?”

“Well, for one, you left him here. Honestly, it was sadly easy to snatch him when you don’t have him strapped to your chest and he’s running around trying to act like a mini Tom Cruise in the Ocean’s Eleven. Second, I know you’re going to shoot me, I figure I could hit him hard enough to cause some damage before you put a bullet in me.” He raised the hammer high, and brought it down, aiming for Cas’s forehead.

“No!” Dean pulled the trigger and shot Stanford dead center of his forehead. The hammer he was holding landing in Cas’s lap.

Sam rushed over and unstrapped Cas who clung to him, shaking. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yes, he grabbed me as soon as I went into the house after you. There was a part of the first-floor wall that gave way and that’s where he hid me so you didn’t see us on your sweep.”

Sam smoothed back his hair and held him close. “Let’s go, the police will find the body in a few hours.”

When they got outside Dean stopped right behind the Impala, his fists clenched in fury. “Sam, hold on, before we get back there is something we need to talk about.” Cas looked up from Sam’s arms.

“Dean, I can explain.” 

Sitting him on the truck on the Impala Sam said. “Get to explaining then.” Both brothers crossed their arms, waiting for the excuse he would give. 

“Well, I wanted to be of help and you made me stay behind, so I snuck into the back when Sam went to the bathroom.” 

“Whole hell of a lot of help you were Cas.” Dean chided. “Sam and I had it handled. We were one and done quickly, and we would be back at the motel, drinking beer and watching TV right now if you hadn’t directly disobeyed me.”

“This is why we asked you to stay behind.” Sam began. “You got captured, and you’re not big Cas right now to just fly away or even defend yourself. You are still a hunter, but not right now.”

Dean leaned in close. “And right now, all you are is in trouble. Not an angel, not a former commander, but a soon to be very, very sorry little boy.” Grabbing Cas he put one foot up on the bumper and tilted Cas over his knee, yanking down the elastic blue shorts. 

“Dean! No!”

“Too late.” Dean brought his hand down and spanked him good and hard. “I swear Cas, you just don’t know when to listen do you, you act on impulse most of the time and this is where it gets you.” He lay five rapid smacks down. “This is how you got hurt at the park, by not listening to me.”

“Dean, I’m sorry! I’ll listen!” Cas cried, wriggling over his friend’s hard knee. “Please, stop!”

“Yes you will, when you are big again and hold your own, then you can be as reckless as you like, like usual, but right now.” He spanked him along his upper thighs. “You will listen to Sam and I, and you will obey a command when we give it. If we say stay in the motel, you stay.” He lay one last almighty smack and drew Cas up into a hug. 

Tears, snot, and drool collected at Cas’s chin as he cried into Dean’s jacket, his arms wrapped around his neck, squeezing tight. Both brothers patted his back and comforted him, letting him know they still loved him. 

“M’ sorry.” Cas mumbled. Sam went around and collected a tissue from the glove box, wiping his face. 

Dean ran his fingers through Cas’s hair. “I know, but you scared us little bee. Promise you’ll listen from now on?”

Cas nodded and re-buried his face in Dean’s neck, feeling embarrassed and chastised, but well-loved. He was not going to enjoy sitting for the next couple of days. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, I don't condone the spanking of an actual child, especially one so young. But an eons-old angel that has been aged, yes, yes I do.


	7. Daycare Escape

The Bracelets

Chapter 7: Daycare Escape

_ Note: This chapter starts in the third person but shifts to Cas’s point of view. _

Cas looks down to his shoes, just past his little knobby knees and navy blue shorts. Scooby-Doo looks back up at him, smiling with his tongue lolling out over the sandwich he just made. He giggles remembering the dog from their encounter into the TV. 

Really, how could a young man, consistently under the influence and on a very poor diet be able to match the running speed of a Great Dane?

“What’s got you so giggly, little bee?” Dean asks from the bathroom mirror, his eyes met Cas’s when he looks at him through the reflection. 

“Nothing.” He answers in a sweet tone, obviously trying to butter Dean up. He knows what’s about to happen and he had been trying to get out of it all night. Dean was never more thankful for children’s Benadryl, it knocked the former angel out flat and let him sleep all through the night. 

Today was going to be a tough day for all of them. Dean and Sam had a witch to gank and take her stuff for Rowena, and Cas had a date with the daycare center Sam found. He was a little more than unhappy when Dean told him. He could almost hear the whine in his voice again.

“But Dean, I’m an asset to the team! I can help!” He had stomped his little feet, his face screwed up into a pout and it grew red. He threatened to stop breathing if Dean wouldn’t let him go. Which lasted all about four seconds when Dean reminded him that he didn’t normally breathe anyways.

In the end, adult bodies won the argument and Cas pouted. He pouted even more when Dean threatened another spanking if he acted out at the daycare. His vessel was much more prone to pain being so small, and just those four whacks from last time hurt him, not as much as it hurt Dean mind you, he was probably more upset than Cas was.

Either way, he was going to be safe at this place, Sam had gone out last night as Cas slept and checked for anything that looked out of the ordinary and put some well-hidden sigils to protect it further from more than just creeps lurking in the windows. Maybe some sigils to keep part-time flier’s from trying to escape too. He nodded in the mirror and continued shaving. “Alright little bee, I’m almost done in here, Sam has the car packed and ready to go, you got Beezy?”

“Yes Dean, I have him packed in my bag.” 

“Good, why don’t you take that little tush of yours and go find Sam?”

“Yes, Dean.” He turns and makes a mad dash for the door, excited to get out into the sunshine. Dean can’t help but smile when he heard the squeak of the sneakers as he ran. It’s too freakin’ cute and he thinks he may need to eat an entire porterhouse steak raw just to feel manly again.

The hotel door shut and locked behind him, the “Do Not Disturb” sign in place, and the keys to the Impala in his fingers. Sam shuts the backdoor finally and stretches his back. 

“Alright, I got a report of where the witch might be located, and Sunshine Palace is expecting him.” Dean looks into the back windows, Cas is having an animated conversation with Beezy. 

“Sweet, let’s go.” He opens the door and drops into the driver’s seat.

“Hello, Castiel! Your daddy told me you are an angel.” The woman at the check-in counter said as she looked down at Cas. Dean rubbed the top of Cas’s head and chuckled. 

“Yep, he is, can be a little devil too sometimes, if you know what I mean.” He grunts in pain as Cas’s grip on his leg turns into a pinch. “Anyways, he’s already had breakfast, and I have a lunch packed for him. Me and his Uncle will be back about…five-ish? Maybe earlier if our business meeting goes well.”

The woman nodded and came around the corner of the desk. “Alright Mr. Chesterfield, Castiel will be taken good care of.”

“Thanks.” Dean nods and gives his trademark smile before getting down and leveling with Cas. “Alright buddy, I gotta go, please behave.” Cas already has his lip out in a pout but he nods nonetheless and hugs Dean, making him hug Beezy and kiss goodbye too.

Walking out and getting into the car he sighs. Sam gives him a knowing look.

“That hard huh? Any waterworks?”

“Nah, Cas is pouting but he’ll live.” He turns the keys to the impala, letting the ignition turn over. “Honestly Sammy, between you and him, I don’t think I can ever be a father, it’s too hard to say no to those puppy eyes.” 

Sam only shakes his head and looks out the back window for any cars.

***HylianHeroine2***

The acrid smell of urine and disinfectant makes my nose burn. I already don’t like this place and I can feel angel sigils oppressing the little power I have. The boys knew me too well. 

But I was a commander, I was God at one point, I could make it out of a daycare center and help the boys whether they wanted it or not!

The lady from the counter, who told me her name is June, took my bag to hang on the wall so other children could not get to it, and if I wanted it I had to ask. She led me to a small table with small, multi-colored chairs where I could sit and do crafts if I wanted.

“Thank you June, I appreciate you treating me like an adult.” I smiled up at her, she gave me a confused one back. Right, the adult speak as Dean put it, it was already awkward in my normal form, but it was even worse sounding from a child. She pats my head and walks away, leaving me and Beezy to figure out a plan to get out. 

The room is large, with a somewhat closed-off section to the left of the room for when nap time would occur. A uni-sexual bathroom sat by the door to the room, along with a sink and an even larger table for snack time. 

“Let’s see,” I mumble to Beezy. “There’s only one camera pointed to the door, the windows are pushed open to let in a breeze, and the door to the outside play area is propped open. It shouldn’t be too hard to get out.” I turn to look at my bag hanging on the wall. That would be the issue, I couldn’t leave without it. The man of bats would be upset if I left him behind. Slumping in my seat, I bided my time, I needed to wait until there were other children so they could be a good distraction as I made my way out the door. 

“How’s the little tyke today!?” A man comes up and grabs me, startling me. I squeak and wriggle about, wanting down, my hands barely making any impact on his. Fear, an emotion my small vessel is prone to, grips me and I begin to panic, my full bladder from this morning letting go against my will, and tears already start to roll down my cheeks. 

Then I smell it, chocolate. I turn around, feeling snot come out of my nose to come face to face with Gabriel, dressed in a smock covered in children’s paints. “Oh shit Cassie, I didn’t mean to scare the literal piss out of you.” He snapped his fingers and I felt the cold wetness disappear and my underwear returns to normal. He snapped again and a tissue appeared in his hand, gently wiping my face.

“What are you doing here?” I grumble. “Why are you working in a children’s daycare?”

Gabriel feigned being hurt. “Cassie, Cassie, Cassie, can’t I just stop in and see how my little brother is doing with my bracelets?” I raise an eyebrow and he breaks in seconds. I’m getting better with this interrogation stuff. “Alright, fine, the wonder bros asked me to make sure you don’t pull a Houdini.”

“Who?” Gabriel pokes my nose and sets me onto his hip.

“Never mind that, just, I’m here to keep you from escaping.” He pulls a sucker from his pocket and unwraps it. “Here, it’s strawberry.” I reluctantly take it and stick it in my mouth. With Gabriel here, I wouldn’t be able to escape as easily, not much escaped the eye of God’s Messenger, but I’m pretty sure I can do it.

Pretty sure.

More children arrive and the day’s activities that were planned are set into motion. I can either go play with the toys, go sit back at the craft table or get on a white smock similar to Gabriel’s and go finger paint. Gabriel is in the paint section, showing a little girl with pigtails how to draw a flower, so I don’t think it would be best to go there. There are only three kids at the craft table, so little children means no distraction, so I opt for the toys. There are five children here, sitting on the colorful rug depicting a city with poor street planning, playing with various cars and dolls.

I squeeze Beezy close as I begin to feel awkward. At the children’s hospital, the children were calm, sick, and in need. Here, they are healthy and full of energy. 

“David, you’re being a bully.” One boy said to another after he took his toy away. 

“No, I’m not, you’re just being a baby, and babies don’t play with big boy toys.” The older boy had dark hair and a large red band-aid on his cheek. He was holding an action figure high above his head. The younger boy was trying to reach it and couldn’t, he was just too small. I looked around, I couldn’t see June, and the older woman, who had the name Margaret on her name tag, was busy with the crafts table.

Gabriel was still with the girl in the paints section, I furrowed my brow and stormed over.

“Hey, assbutt. Leave him alone and give him back the toy.” 

Both boys looked at me, confused. The girl in the section covered her mouth with her hands. David threw the toy back down at the younger boy and walked over, ripping Beezy from my arms.

“Oh yeah, and what are you doing to do about it?”

What was I going to do about it? I couldn’t hit him, and I certainly didn’t want to use any of my grace to cause harm to a human, a child at that. “I…I will tell the teachers.” Gabriel had no issue tricking kids. Thankfully his tricks on them were scarring, but ultimately harmless. 

David sneered at me. “Look here, kid.”

“Castiel.” I remained firm.

“Castiel, a dumb name.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re new, so I think you should know that I am the boss around here, not you. So, unless you want your underwear pulled over your head, I suggest you stay out of this.”

How dare he! I grabbed his forehead, as he did stupidly bend down to mock me to my face. I could feel my grace in my fingertips. “Castiel is an ancient name and given to me by my father. You will not disrespect him by calling it dumb.” I could see something in his mind. He and the girl, named Ruth, were siblings, and he got bullied by his own brother a lot. I inhaled sharply and let my grace flow, easing his mind of the pain he felt when around his older brother. “You don’t have to be a bully just because your brother is. Find a healthier outlet for your anger.” 

He slumped forward and looked up at me. The confusion in his eyes said everything, but I simply plucked Beezy from his hands and went to play. Ooh, they had the same matchbox cars that Dean bought me!

“Hey, how did you get him to stop?” The younger boy had come over and sat next to me.

“I am an angel of the Lord, all things are possible with my powers.”

The child looks at me funny before laughing. “You’re funny Castiel. My name is Seth, want to play with me and Ruthie?”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny.” I said but he paid me no mind, only pulling Ruth over to join in. 

David joined us a bit later, having finally woken from his confused stare. He said nothing about it and even apologized to Seth. Together, we played a lot, and eventually, it was noon, June calling us all over for our lunches. 

Gabriel sat down in the tiny plastic chair next to me, his knees coming up to his chest as he folded into himself. He bent down and whispered. “Hey, just so you know, a lot of children will get confused if you call yourself an angel.” He poked my nose. “And no grace, you remember what I said at the hospital.”

“Yes, Gabriel.” I grumbled, biting into the sandwich Sam made. He ruffled my head and stood up. 

Lunch ended and I was given my man of bats bag to put my lunch box back into and in an instant, I knew I had my chance to escape. The door to the unisexual bathroom closed, Margaret doing her business and Gabriel disappeared around a corner with June. Rolling my eyes at the tell-tale signs of them giggling and kissing, I slid on my bag, grabbed Beezy, and made a break for the door. 

Outside was warm and bright, the subtle smell of hay from the nearby farms wafted on the breeze. If I could make it over the fence, then I could fly off. The squeaking of my shoes gave away my position but all the adults were occupied and I would be too far away by the time they noticed I was gone. 

Gabriel, I was sure I could bribe with sweets if he caught up to me. Grabbing the chain-link fence, I stuck on foot in and started to climb. A pair of hands grabbed my middle and pulled me away from the fence.

“Woah, where do you think you’re going, little man?” Gabriel said as he placed me on his hip. That stare did not look good. 

“Gabriel, please, I need to help Sam and Dean!”

He shook his head. “Castiel, little brother, you are much too small to help. They have killed hundreds of witches before, and they can do it again, without you.” He furrowed his brow. “How would you have helped? Your grace is weak, you can barely fly and you don’t even have an angel blade.”

“I…I…” I sniff, feeling helpless again. “I don’t know, I do not like feeling like this. I want to help.”

His hands run through my hair. “I know, but right now, you are a bigger help by behaving and doing as they ask.” He tapped my nose. “Do you remember your first flying lesson with Michael?”

I scrub my eyes and nod. “Yeah, he got upset with me for jumping off earlier than anyone else.”

Gabriel laughed. “Yes, that, but do you remember as he held you, letting you get the feel for the air against your skin and in your wings?”

I nod. “Michael ran hot, and he would press all the fledglings against his chest as we flew, so we wouldn’t get cold.” 

“Yeah, and he did that for Raphael and me too when we were just getting the feel for flying too,” Gabriel replied, looking up to the sky. “I sometimes miss being home, and I sometimes miss when Michael would hold me like I’m holding you. I know this isn’t fun, but sometimes, we all want to be a kid again, you have that chance, let it happen, you may never get the chance again.”

“I understand.” Maybe Gabriel was right, it wasn’t so terrible being this young again, Sam and Dean did care for me. I leaned into his side and let him carry me back into the daycare. Then he brought me over to a corner with a couple of frowny faces on the walls. “Hey!”

“Hey yourself, little man.” He replied as he plopped me down on the plastic stool there, facing the wall. “You tried to run off when you know you shouldn’t have.” He took my bag and Beezy. “So, you are going to sit right here and think about your actions. You’re lucky I don’t tell Sam and Dean.”

“But Gabriel!” I protest, kicking the wall. He turns me to face the wall. 

“Five minutes, not a peep.” He bent down. “Be lucky, Lucifer used to tie me to a tree.” Tears welled in my eyes, my vessel getting upset again.

“Can I at least have Beezy?” I ask, feeling very small and vulnerable. Gabriel pets my head and hands me Beezy.

“Alright, remember, not a peep. Be a good boy.” I sniffle and bury my face into Beezy, intent on not crying. It doesn’t happen, the tears come anyway, and I can feel Gabriel still close by, keeping a watchful eye on me. He allows the sniffles and hiccups that spill out of me. Why am I crying so much? It’s not that bad, certainly not like that spanking Dean gave me.

Maybe it was the look Gabriel gave me, it was the same one Dean and Sam gave me when they caught me. A look of disappointment. I know I gave a lot of people the same look and how effective it was. 

Alright, come here little one. Gabriel said as he knelt, opening his arms. I shot up and climbed into his arms, feeling safe and sorry for trying to run off. Gabriel would have been distraught if I had gotten hurt under his watch, Sam and Dean would have been so upset if I got lost.

The image of Dean upset over me broke the dam and I cried into Gabriel’s arms. His hands patted my back and I was vaguely aware of him walking somewhere and sitting down, holding me close. He began to hum, his chest rumbling with the noise. His vessel, whoever it was, had deep vocal cords and fit him so well, he would sing to us all when it was time to rest for the day. 

The memory of him walking amongst all the fledglings, his song in Enochian lulling us all to sleep was comforting. He stated he hated to do it, that Michael and Lucifer would make him, but he did it dutifully at the end of each day, even if the other archangels were busy and weren’t around to watch and see if he did it.

“You remember me holding you all the time?” He asked quietly. I nod, my crying finally slowing. He chuckled softly. “You tell anyone about what I’m going to tell you, and I’ll prank you into next year, but, you were always my favorite Castiel. Of all the fledglings of your year, I cared for you the most. When I left, the only person’s feelings I cared if I hurt was yours. It broke me to leave you.”

“Why?”

“I dunno.” He answered with a shrug. “Dad said you were destined for great things, bigger than even Michael and Lucifer. I guess, I just wanted to help raise that greatness.” He brushed his fingers along my face. “Come now, I think it’s time to take a nap.”

The cot on the floor was comfortable, Beezy under my arm, and the other kids sleeping made the room quiet and peaceful. The ladies didn’t question how Gabriel could put over twenty kids to sleep easily, but they were thankful. 

When we all got up, I decided to join some kids outside and play on the playground. I could sense Gabriel watching me closely through the windows but I didn’t care to run off anymore. He was right, I was more helpful if Dean and Sam could focus without worrying if I was underfoot. 

Ruth, David, and I took turns playing a game called hopscotch and Seth dragged me over to play a ball game when Ruth and David’s parents came to collect them. Looking up at the sky, I could read the sun, it was about three in the afternoon, and the juice from lunchtime hit my bladder.

“June, I need to use the restroom.” I said as I walked up to her. She nodded and let me pass back into the daycare. The bathroom was empty thankfully and I walked in, locking the knob before putting Beezy up on the sink and then turning to the toilet to do my business. 

With effort, I flush the toilet and hop down to pull up my pants. The toilet isn’t like the one at the bunker, it is barely clean for one, and the water pressure is terrible. With my shorts re-buttoned I walk to the sink, Beezy sitting there, waiting for me. On the wall was a detailed set of pictures showing how to properly wash your hands. Putting my hand under the automatic soap dispenser, getting a good dollop of soap and set to washing my hands. 

“Beezy. Look, this is how you properly wash your hands.” My stuffed friend never answers, but I don’t mind. Moving to my wrists I wash them, the bracelets mocking me again. I feel a bit of regret putting them on, but when I think about it, its good that I did and not Dean like he wanted. If I was having a bad time, Dean definitely would. 

As the soap runs over my wrists I look down and felt one slipping up and off my wrist into my hand. They came off! Finally! Well, one did. I tug at the other one, it began to slide up my hand and over my knuckles. A lurch of trickster magic surged through my body, I felt my grace fluctuate within me, getting ready to expand as my vessel would. Quickly, I shoved it back on, my grace compacting back down and settling. 

It would be smart to take them off, return to normal, but I very well couldn’t do that while still in dinosaur underwear. At least, that was the reason I gave myself. Did I want to return to normal? A few weeks ago, I would have been elated to, but now, I’m not so sure. Gabriel’s words flit to the front of my mind. 

_ “We all want to be a kid again, you have that chance, let it happen, you may never get the chance again.” _

He’s right, I’ll never get the chance again, this time my childhood consisted of being around a real family, people who took care of me. Sure, as a fledgling, Gabriel and the other archangels took care of me, but they had hundreds of fledglings to care for, to teach to fight and fly, to use their power to keep humans safe.

Sam and Dean focused on me, and me alone. 

“Castiel?” Gabriel’s voice sounds concerned on the other side of the door. “You okay? Dean is here, they finished the job and are ready to pick you up.”

Washing my hands quickly, I dried them and grabbed Beezy before opening the door. “I am fine, thank you, Gabriel.” He smiles down at me and ruffles my hair again. 

“Come on, let’s go.” He takes me down the hall, Dean is standing in the front area, looking fine, maybe a little banged up, but nothing Gabriel couldn’t fix easily. 

“Hey buddy, you ready to go home?” I nod, ready to get out of the daycare. Gabriel follows us out to the car and gets in the back with me.

“I’m hitching a ride with you guys, to be honest, I have no idea how in the world normal human children can be gifts from Dad. That was awful.” Dean only rolled his eyes and turned on the car. Sam is leaned back in the front seat, obviously tired. 

“Were you good today?” He asks, sleepily. I look to Gabriel who smiles and winks.

“Yeah, he was perfect, played, colored, all those good things.” He said. “As a matter of fact, I think he deserves ice cream.” 

“I’m in favor of that.” Sam says, looking to Dean. Dean grins and pulls out of the parking spot. 

“Ice cream it is.” 

I look down to the bracelets, I should tell everyone that I can take them off, but…I think I’ll keep it to myself, at least for now. Ice cream does sound good.


	8. Claire: Novak, Hunter in Training, and Babysitter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I am a clown and seriously dropped off the face of the Earth there didn't I?   
> Sorry about the delayed posting guys, but I should be posting the last chapters here in the next few days. Thank you for being so patient.   
> Here's to the end of Supernatural guys! It's been a ride.

The Bracelets

Chapter 8: Claire: Novak, Hunter in Training, and Babysitter?

“What?” Dean hit the steering wheel in frustration, then immediately ran his hand along it to apologize to baby. “What does he mean he has things to do?”

“Just that, he said he has to bail.” Sam clicked through all of his contacts, hoping he could find at least one other viable option.

Gabriel just bailed on babysitting. His own brother and he bails. Typical. Dean swerved the car around and headed back to the bunker. Damn Archangel was lucky they hadn’t left Kansas yet.

They had a tip that there was a pack of Ghouls hanging around a Graveyard in Oklahoma, a simple enough job. But, Cas still wasn’t to be trusted to stay in the motel or the car, so they called Gabriel, who whined until Sam tempted him with some homemade cake. 

Given that the only real sweets the archangel had were the ones he conjured up, it was a treat to have something homemade. 

Then, when they were barely out of town, he called, said he had “some very important, archangel business that Castiel can’t get involved with” and he said he was given them an hour to head home before he strapped Cas to the couch and left.

“Can we call a daycare again?”

“Nope, it’s Sunday. No daycare is open on Sundays.” Sam sighed and put his phone in his pocket before grabbing Dean’s jacket and yelling. “Wait, there, make the next turn into this parking lot.” Dean, confused, did so. The car barely stopped before Sam jumped out and began running over to a woman sitting at the bus stop.

“Dammit Sam, this is no time to be trying to pick up chicks!” Oh, he must be ill for seriously saying that. Sam waved away his brother’s scolding before returning to his conversation. They spoke for a moment more before she got up and went into the gas station, Sam jogging back.

“Sammy, you better have a good reason for shaving off time we could be using to get back to the bunker.” 

Leaning his head into the window he grinned. “I do, you’ll see.”

“Hey, Dean!” Claire called as she walked up to the impala, arms full of snacks. “Nice to see you and Sam again.” 

“Claire, hey girl, what are you doing out here?” 

She got into the back when Sam opened the door for her. “Did a job in Topeka, and my ride had to abandon me, so I was catching the bus to head off to Illinois. Then Sam said you guys could use me on a mission, so here I am.”

Dean looked over. “Sam, no, we can’t make her do this.”

“Hey, did you two get a kid?” Claire asked as she saw the car seat. Oh boy.

“There you two are,” Gabriel said. “I’ve got to go, I’ll see you two guys later.” He left in a flutter of wings, Dean grumbled and cursed his name under his breath. He hadn’t even taken three steps into the bunker. 

“So, this is the famous bunker.” She took a look around. “I like it, secure and safe.”

“Deeean!” Cas cried from the living room. “Gabriel left me tied to a chair, help!” Dean looked over his shoulder with a sheepish grin. 

“Hey Claire, I didn’t get to ask, but how do you feel about kids?” They made their way down the stairs and into the living room, where Sam moved on to untie Cas from the chair he was in. Gabriel hadn’t even bothered to help him dress, just left him in the pajamas. 

“Claire?” Cas asked as he looked up.

Claire looked sort of funny with her jaw hung open. “Castiel? Is that you?”

He nodded. “Yes, long story but I have some bracelets that forced me to de-age too well, this.”

“He can’t use any of his powers.” Sam started. “We just need you to watch him for the day, really that pack of Ghouls shouldn’t be too hard and we should be back later this evening.”

“Wait, wait, so you want me to watch a de-aged version of my father?” Claire set down her bag and flopped into a chair. “Jeez guys, when you said you needed help, I assumed it would be on a hunt or something.” 

Dean finished untying Cas and helped him off the chair. “Yeah, I know, kinda shitty on our part, but seriously, he’s too little to go with us, and as you saw, his worthless brother kind of just dumped him.” 

“Just let me go with you, I can at least sit in the car!” Cas whined. “Beezy and I will watch baby, I promise.” Dean picked up by the back of his pajamas.

“Nice try little bee, but you lost serious trust points in Mobile, and don’t think Sam and I didn’t watch the cameras from the daycare, we know you tried to run off until Gabriel caught you.”

“What happened in Mobile?” Claire questioned. Sam only shook his head. 

“That would best left alone for now Claire. Seriously, we need to get to the graveyard before nightfall, please, can you watch him?”

With a sigh, Claire opened her arms as Dean deposited Cas in her lap. “I guess it would be alright, I get to see what my kid might be like someday if I have one.” 

With Dean and Sam finally on the road, Claire sat on the living room floor, a mug of hot chocolate in her hand as she helped Cas stack some blocks.

“So, de-aged huh?”

“Yeah,” Cas replied as he put another block on his tower. “Gabriel, my brother, made these bracelets that can de-age a person. It fluctuates in age, some only getting a little younger, and some getting to be my age. Why I don’t know, but he is the trickster.”

“I thought Gabriel was an archangel, God’s messenger. Why is he running around making stuff like this?”

Cas shrugged. “You tell me. I think he was just bored.” 

Setting the mug down Claire leaned back on her palms. “Speaking of bored, Kaia called me. Apparently in Kansas City, a rugaru is running about. Wanna go get it? We will be back before the boys get back.”

“What? What about what Dean and Sam said?”

“Pssh, you’re still an angel Castiel.” She grinned. “Besides, don’t you want to get out of the bunker, have a little fun?”

“Yes.” Cas sat up excitedly. “I can finally prove I’m helpful to Sam and Dean.” 

All packed up in a hotwired car Claire tuned on the radio and sung along to the radio with Cas as they raced to their destination. Cas had to admit, it was fun to be well, naughty, once in a while. If he was still in his normal vessel, he might frown upon Claire stealing a car, and speeding along the backroads to Kansas City. But, she promised they would be home safe and he trusted her.

Pulling up to the abandoned warehouse where Kaia said the last sighting was Claire unbuckled him from the seat and he stood by her side, looking up at the broken and dirty windows of the place as she pulled her homemade flamethrower out from the trunk.

“Why would a rugaru live here? I thought they liked to live near suburban areas to feed on the living.”

“Who cares?” Claire replied as she shut the trunk. “At least this way there won’t be many witnesses to its death.”

Cas and Claire soon found out why it lived in a warehouse. Various storage areas with metal locks littered the main floor. The stairs leading to the second floor were broken so at least they knew it couldn’t drop on them from above. 

In the caged storage areas were bodies, tons of them, in various stages of decay and munched on.

Oh shit. Claire held a hand over her mouth to keep from gagging.

“Looks like it kept victims here so it could feed,” Cas muttered. “How quaint.” A gurgling noise behind them made Cas turn and yelp in surprise. 

The rugaru, now having eaten human flesh for a while, looked more monster than human, its eyes were bloodshot and his teeth bloody from all the meat they had ripped through. It lunged out at Claire, hits nasty fingers ripping her shirt and cutting deep into her side.

In her shock she dropped the flame thrower, where it went off briefly, sending the rugaru back in a haste to keep from burning. Taking the opportunity Claire grabbed Cas by the arm and ran, pulling him up into her arms as she did so. The rugaru shrieked and gave chase. 

Her side wound pounding as she ran, sliding around the warehouse corner, the shrieks of the rugaru right behind her. She hoped to whatever higher power that hadn’t abandoned them that she could find a place to hide long enough to call Sam, or Dean, hell, Jody hopefully could race down here.

“Claire!” Cas called her name. “Claire, find a spot to stop, please!”

“Are you crazy?” She kept him tucked in her chest. “I have to get us out of here!” She saw it barely as she rounded another corner, a small storage area that was gated, thankfully body free. Ripping open the door she flung herself and Cas inside it, slammed the flimsy sliding metal lock into place, and crammed them both into a dark corner of the small area, hoping that the creature would just fly past them.

It didn’t. The rugaru, looking more and more monster-like as its quick transformation went on, snarled and clawed at the metal cage, gnarled teeth-gnashing, trying to bite through the metal.

“Well Castiel, it was nice knowing you.” Claire said as she held him close, knowing that the metal lock wouldn’t hold forever. Cas squirmed in her arms until he finally wiggled free.

“Claire, I’m about to do something and I want you to look away, alright?”

“If you even think that I’ll let you sacrifice yourself for me, I won’t let it, not only will dad’s ghost kill me for letting his body go to waste, but so will Dean and Sam.”

Cas sat down on the floor, ignoring what she said as he calmly took off his shoes and socks. He took off his shirt and looked over. “Claire, please, you don’t need to see this.” He took her hand. “Trust me, nothing bad will happen, to either of us.”

Searching his face for any indication of a plan or a joke she sighed and nodded when she found none. “Alright.” She covered her face and titled her head to the side. A bright flash of light peeked through her fingers.

“Hey, ugly!” His voice was much deeper now. Another bright light and the rugaru screamed in an unholy manner as the sound of crackling fire and smell of burning flesh filled the immediate area. 

When all was said and done, she heard him grunt in pain. “Castiel?” She looked up finally, the rugaru lay dead outside the now burned metal cage door and Cas sat on the floor, pulling his blue shorts back on. “What did you do?”

He looked away, slipping his shirt over his head. “What I had too.” One of his bracelets lay on the floor.

“Did-did you take your bracelets off?” She asked, dumbfounded. When he didn’t answer, she snatched it off the floor before he could grab it, holding it high over her head. “Castiel, can you, or can you not, take these things off?”

“Alright!” He shouted, clutching his head and bringing his knees to his chest. “Yes, I can!”

“How long?”

“Since the first time I was at daycare, which was a few months ago.” He sniffled into his knees. “I was washing my hands and slipped one off.” 

Claire looked at the bracelet before looking over to him. “I take it Sam and Dean don’t know?” He shook his head, still looking to the floor. “Why didn’t you tell them?”

“I don’t know.” He responded truthfully. “I should, you know, tell them, take them off and be back in my normal vessel, but, I don’t know, I don’t want to.”

Standing Claire wiped off the seat of her pants and picked Cas up. “There has to be some reason.”

He shrugged. “Have you ever wanted to be a kid again? I mean, technically you still are one but-” Claire put a finger to his lip with a laugh as she gingerly opened the metal door and scampered past the dead rugaru. 

“Okay, Cas, I get it. Look, to answer you, yes. There were a lot of times I wished things could be how they were. I know you heard my prayers to bring my father back.” She put Cas back down to walk beside her, now that there was no danger. “But, I mean, I can’t.”

“I’m sorry.” He looked up at her and took her hand. “I am, if I had known what was in store for your father.” He sniffled.

“Hey, none of that.” She smiled and knelt beside him. “Cas, seriously, it’s okay. I know you only did it because you had to, and if you really could have, you would have let my father go.” She tapped his nose. “But this,” She held up the remaining bracelet. “Is about you. Why don’t you want to be an adult, or whatever it is for angels?”

“My childhood was filled with war.” He started. “Endless training to use our powers, fighting for humans that wanted to remain ignorant of God’s power. I didn’t get to experience a childhood like you or any normal child did. I never even knew my father’s face.” His eyes sank to the floor again. “I guess, I wanted to for once. Sam, Dean, Gabriel, even you, you all have been so kind, nurturing and I don’t know, I want to experience it as long as possible.”

“I see. Well.” She slid the bracelet back on his other hand where it shrunk back down to sit flush with his skin again. “In that case, you’ll need this guy. Come on, let’s go back to the bunker, I’m worn out and we both need a bath.”

“Are you going to tell Sam and Dean?” Cas asked as they made their way out of the warehouse and to the car.

“Hell no.” She laughed. “I wouldn’t have even told them I did this hunt, they will kill me if I told them that we went after a rugaru, then bring me back and kill me again knowing I brought you along.” She opened the back passenger door and helped him into a seat belt. “Besides the bracelet thing is yours to tell them.”

“Thank you.” Claire planted a kiss on his forehead.

“Not a problem, little bee.”

Dean sighed as he pulled open the bunker door. He was sore, smelled bad, and really, really wanted a beer.

“Claire? Cas?” He called as he and Sam walked down the stairs. “You two still up?”

Claire came into the room from the library. “Hey guys, how did it go?”

“I think I have a cracked rib and Sam is whimpering about a hurt foot, but good. We got the damn things.” 

“They dropped a gravestone on my foot, I think I have every right to be “whimpering” as you put it, Dean.” Sam grumbled.

“Whatever you big baby.” Dean rolled his eyes and turned back to Claire. “So, how was the little angel?”

“Oh, pssh, he was great.” She grinned. “We mostly sat down and played with toys, a couple of board games. Made him dinner and ran him a bath, put him down, oh, an hour ago?”

“Damn.” Dean chuckled. “He’s never that good for us. Maybe you should babysit more often.”

“Yeah, next time I’m going to charge you. I missed out on a werewolf hunt for you two.” She playfully punched Dean in the arm as he winced. “Seriously though, he was fine.”

“That’s good. Thank you, Claire.” Sam said. “We appreciate it, and any time you want to come and see us or Cas at the bunker, or just need a place to stay for a while, you are more than welcome.”

“Yeah, what he said.” He looked up to see a pair of eyes watching them. Smiling he walked over. “Hey little bee, what are you doing up?”

“I heard you and Sam come home and I wanted to make sure you two were alright.”

“Ah, nothing a little whiskey and a good night’s sleep won’t fix.” He scooped Cas up and held him on his hip. “Come on, say goodnight to Claire and Sam, and it’s back to bed with you.”

“Night Sam, night Claire,” Cas said giving them both a small wave. Dean walked back into the nursery and closed the door so he could put Cas to bed. Sam turned to Claire.

“So, really, was he as good as you say? Gabriel covered for him last time.”

She nodded. “Seriously Sam, he was. Look, I’ve got to go, Jody is probably waiting for me and I already missed the midnight bus.”

Studying her face, Sam could sense something was off but decided not to press it. “At least stay here for the night, take the morning bus. We have plenty of rooms and I’m sure Cas would like to see you off.”

“I know, but I’ll be fine.” She hugged Sam before picking up her bags and heading to the stairs. “I’ll see you guys later, alright?”

“Bye, Claire.” Sam waved as she left the bunker. Now, to attend to his foot. Freaking Ghouls. He was so not whining. 

Okay, maybe a little. 


	9. Trust Me

The Bracelets

Chapter 9: Trust Me

Be it Dean’s drive to win, or the fact that he felt like he really just needed one success after a few days, hell, weeks of disappointments and nearly failed hunts.

But dammit, all, even if it wasn’t a true contest, he was bound and determined to win. 

Even if it was through Cas.

“Dean.” Cas looked up at him, holding Beezy close. “Why am I here again?” 

Dean, all dressed in his winner clothes, which consisted of shorts and a homemade shirt that said “My son is better than yours” continued tying the laces of Cas’s tiny shoes. “Because, you are a winner, and winners never back out of a challenge.” 

Cas looked around at the other kids, who were standing around, some talking with friends, others picking their nose, and one child off to the side, doing a potty dance.  _ “Oh, Dean.” _ He thought.  _ “You really need to get out more.” _

Last week, Sam had enough of Dean lying about and heavily sighing. There were no new cases of extreme weird, few demons here and there but were easily dispatched. Dean had already cleaned, organized, and then re-organized his guns, restocked and organized their weapons’ stash in the back of Baby’s trunk, washed her thoroughly inside and out, and even spot cleaned the Dean Cave.

In every sense of the word, he was bored. Cas had his toys, and Sam had his books. There was only so much porn one man could go through before he started to resort to bugging his sibling. So, Sam, to keep himself from killing Dean found activities for children around the area and told Dean to take Cas, have some bonding time.

Of course, at first, Dean balked. “He’s not really my kid Sam”, and “Cas isn’t interested in doing baby things.” But, it was all talk, the first night of activities Dean had Cas strapped into Baby, and off they were before Sam could even say goodbye. 

The first night was building a miniature pinewood derby car and racing it down a small hill. Did Dean let Cas build any of it? No, but he did get to pick the colors of the stickers that went on it.

They won, of course, and Dean’s brain went haywire after that first night.

Which brought them to today. Dean, in his ridiculous get-up, stood at the ready, giving Cas tips on how to win the activity today.

It was a small obstacle course, nothing too hard on Cas, he could probably run through it with his eyes closed if he wanted to, small problem is he wasn’t that coordinated on his feet and couldn’t run that fast compared to other children, add that to the bloodthirsty look in Dean’s eye. Well, it made him worried. “Dean, please, I would like to have fun, not murder the other children. After all, a cheater never wins.”

“Cas,” Dean assured him. “It isn’t cheating, see, some kids have long legs, some have brains, others, like you, have angel mojo. All-natural.”

It was no use arguing with him. Cas sighed and looked ahead. They were on a playground, a lot of poles, ropes, and plastics lined the field for the kids to go around and race. Off to the far end was a drop off that went down to the creek nearby. Maybe….

“Alright racers, on your mark.” The announcer started. Cas handed Dean Beezy and readied himself. “Get set. Go!” The gun in his hand fired and off everyone went.

“Hell yeah!” Dean threw a fist into the air as Cas raced off for the first obstacle. The other kids were going to eat his angel dust…wait, no, bad Dean. He watched with glee as Cas ran his little legs off and nearly flew over the first obstacle. 

He rounded the first corner and disappeared from sight, Dean eagerly watched the end of the finish line nearby waiting to see Cas cross it first. Please, Chuck, he needed this.

A little girl ran across it first, followed by several other kids, parents all cheering around him as they collected their kids. Dean was disappointed at first, but soon, his heart was beating fast. Where was Cas?

“Dean!” Cas called as he raced for the finish line, sweat on his face, looking out of breath. Dean couldn’t help but smile, poor guy, he did try after all. Casually walking to the finish line he knelt to collect Cas in his arms.

That is, until Cas grabbed his hand and tugged. “Dean, come quick, I saw something.”

“What did you see?” Dean stood and allowed himself to be pulled along. Cas looked around, there were still tons of parents and kids, he didn’t want to alert them.

“Our kind of thing.” He whispered. “Down by the creek.” They hurried along, coming to a break in the trees. Down at the bottom of the slope was a body, picking Cas up, Dean slowly slid down to the bottom and his heart sunk. It was a young woman, barely older than mid-twenties, and her throat was chewed off. 

“Vampires.” He said. He whirled around, it was close to nightfall, and the attacker might still be roaming close by, after all, there were tons of families still out, easy pickings. “Shit, we need to get to Baby, grab Sam and come back.”

“Dean, we don’t have time,” Cas replied. “There are a lot of families out here and any one of them could be next.” 

“I know, but we need to get you safe, and I would like to have Sam as back up.” Dean started back up the slope. A scream could be heard in the distance, scrambling up the hill he ran back into pure chaos.

“Melinda!” A man screamed, his child clinging to his side. People were running around, in hysterics. Dean ran over and grabbed the man by his shoulders.

“Hey, what happened?” The man shoved away from Dean. 

“They took her, this group of wannabe looking goths took my wife!” He looked around again and shouted her name again. Dean grabbed him again.

“Hey, that won’t help, just tell me, which way did they go?!” The man pointed off to the north, through the sparse trees there, Dean could barely see a van speeding off down the road. He hugged Cas tighter to his chest and ran for the parking lot. Shit, yeah, no time for Sam. He looked down to Cas. “Alright, you’re right we don’t have time to get Sam, but you are not getting in harm’s way.”

“You’ll let me help?” Cas asked eagerly. Dean nodded as he opened the back door and buckled Cas into the car seat. 

“Only a little though.”

Following the van wasn’t that hard, whoever was the driver was bad at it, but Dean did want to err on the side of caution, so he parked Baby just outside of the pathway the van sped down and waited. They needed a plan, and one that wouldn’t involve Cas getting into the way of fire. He turned and looked over the seat. 

“Okay little bee, we need a plan. Tell me what you got.”

Dean slid open the door to the barn with barely a creak, he could smell the iron in the air with so many vamps having come back with a fresh kill on their hands. He gulped and steadied his nerves. Hopefully, his and Cas’s plan would work. 

If not, well, he’d rather not think about that. Immediately to his left, he saw the woman tied to a support beam. She looked terrified, tears trailing down her pale and dirty cheeks. He lifted a finger to his lips and looked around. There was a flickering light off to the far end of the barn and hushed whispers. Quietly as he could Dean slunk over and used his machete to cut the woman free.

He leaned in a whispered. “There is a path that takes you back to the road, follow it and you should be back in town in less than an hour.” She nodded and Dean guided her to the door, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Once the woman slid out and Dean watched as she ran from sight down the path he waited only a few more seconds to see Cas’s hand pop up from the bush, giving his signal that he was ready. With a deep breath and a slow sigh, he slammed open the barn door fully and shouted. “Hey, you bloodsuckers, come one out and play!” 

He grimaced at seeing at least six vampires come scurrying from the back room where the light had been flickering. Without a moment’s hesitation, he made a come and get it gesture and ran out of the barn door, hearing them give chase.

Halfway to the path that he told the woman about he jumped over the nearly invisible tripwire that Cas had strung up and rolled, turning back just as one of the vampires in the front tripped it, triggering the crossbows they had set up in the trees. The bolts were, of course, dipped in dead man’s blood, and one by one, the vampires fell to the ground, writhing in pain.

Dean made short work of cutting each of their heads off. It was silent after the growls of screeches of the vampires died out. Cas’s head popped out of the bushes.

“Dean?”

“It’s okay Cas, it’s done.” 

Cas laughed, a little breathless as Dean wiped the blood from his machete. “That was incredibly fun.” Dean sighed and shook his head.

“Yeah, you think so?” He grinned. “You were a big help little bee, maybe I should take you on hunts more often…provided that it’s as easy as this one was.”

“I told you,” Cas replied, climbing into the backseat. “Claire trusted me, you should too.” Dean nodded along, stowing the machete in the back and moving around to the side to buckle Cas in when he stopped.

“Wait, what did you say?” Cas paled visibly and gulped. “Castiel Winchester.” Dean got in close and hovered over him. “What did you just say?”

Oh boy, this wasn’t going to end well. 


	10. Growing Up

The Bracelets

Chapter 10: Growing Up 

“Yeah, thanks.” Dean replied before he pulled the phone away from his ear and hit the end call button. With a sigh, he leaned back in his seat, nearly throwing his phone across the war room table.

“Who was that?” Sam asked as he walked in with another large book.

“Oh, just Jody.” He lifted his head a little to look his brother in the eye. “Guess what Claire just told her?”

“What?”

“Little Castiel and Claire went out and killed a rougaru out in Kansas City while we hit up those ghouls.” He turned to see Cas still sitting in his playpen, putting together a large puzzle. “Of course, it makes me wonder how such a small angel and inexperienced hunter could kill something like that.”

Sam hummed deep in his throat. “I knew she was hiding something. Should we confront Cas?”

Dean shook his head. “I tried, after the mess with the Vamps he started to confess.” He pressed his lips firmly together. “Sam, I think more is going on here than we think.”

“Like?”

“I don’t know yet.” Dean studied Cas from across the room. “But I will find out.” 

In the end, after much drilling from both Sam and Dean, Cas confessed to the secret hunt that he and Claire went on, but refused to say how they managed to kill the monster. Eventually, Dean just dropped it, he wasn’t going to get much out of Cas without torturing him, and he wasn’t going to do that.

But, he kept his eyes open and he continued to watch. Just in case.

“Cas should be up from his nap by now,” Dean said as he scooted the chair back. “I’ll get him up for dinner.”

“Alright.” Sam mumbled, still focused on his book, not really hearing his brother. Dean hummed a Metallica song as he walked down the hall, Cas’s door was still slightly ajar and he peeked inside the dark room, there should be a sleeping lump in the crib, snoozing away peacefully.

Instead, he saw the outline of a fully grown man trying to reach for the tub of sweets atop the bookshelf. Dean rolled his eyes. “Dammit Gabriel, would you at least let us know if you’re going to be here?” 

The outline jumped and nodded. Dean shook his head and said. “Go ahead and get Cas up, I’ll tell Sam to make you plate for dinner.”

The outline nodded again and Dean turned for the map room where Sam was. His breath hitched in his throat as he saw Gabriel sitting in a chair, lazily flicking through a skin mag. “Hey Dean-o, where’s Cassie?”

Dean paled, turned, and ran back down the hall. “Cas!” He drew his gun and slammed into the room, Sam getting up and running after him, gun drawn as well. Cas jumped in the crib, looking rather irritated to be woken in such a fashion. 

“Cas, have you been asleep this whole time?” Dean asked, going to the crib and lifting him out. “Be honest, I need to know.” 

Nodding he said. “Yes, I was just awoken by you slamming the door open, thanks by the way, I think I peed myself.”

Dean turned to Sam. “Check the warding, someone was just in here with him, trying to grab some sweets.” He looked to Gabriel. “I thought it was you at first.”

Gabriel held up his hands. “Ah, no, I know better than to wake the bear known as Castiel, even for sweets.” They re-checked all the warding and sigils, did a thorough sweep of each floor, and even had Dean re-trace his steps to see what could have possibly made an adult-sized shadow in a toddler’s room. 

“You’re not sleeping in there alone until I figure out who that was.” Dean finally said as he put Cas in a new pull up and into the booster seat for dinner. He didn’t complain.

To Dean, this was another hunt, however, this time, the clues were slow to fall into place, but they were getting there. No more major accidents happened, but Dean was quick to notice when things were getting moved about or missing. Things that were too high up for Cas to reach. Sam swore on their mother and father that he wasn’t moving anything, and Gabriel hadn’t been by since that night. 

A toy that had been put out of reach, the TV remote which had been on the too tall side table and Dean found Cas up in the middle of the night watching a documentary. If he didn’t know any better, then he would think say either there was a very child-friendly poltergeist in the bunker or a naughty angel.

“Cas, are you using your grace?” Dean asked one morning. The stove had been recently used and Cas was eating tomato soup.

“No.” He replied quickly. “Sam made this.”

Sam walked in a moment later, clearly just getting out of the shower. Dean turned and scowled. “Castiel, little bee, don’t go using your grace to make soup, you should get Sam or I to make you food.”

The wide eyes and quivering lip made Dean melt, he couldn’t stay mad. “Yes, Dean.” Dammit all.

Maybe it was just a naughty angel using his grace, well, he did say he needed to use some of it to keep the pressure off. That is, until Sam woke him up in the middle of the night.

“Dean, wake up.” He shook him awake. “There is someone in Cas’s room again.” Dean shot up quicker than lighting, grabbing his gun from the nightstand and both brothers ran down to the nursery, when they flicked on the light Cas was standing in the middle of the room, looking like a child caught with the cookie jar. 

Which he was holding, his little arm digging in as he already had one in his mouth. 

“But, there was a full-grown man in here like, not even two minutes ago.” Sam gestured, his mouth hung open in disbelief.

Dean rolled his eyes and picked up Cas, taking the cookie jar away. “Young man, what did I say about using your grace?”

“I am still an adult and an angel. You can’t ask me to not use my grace.” His furrowed brow met Dean’s.

“Technically yes, that is true, but you could hurt yourself if you use too much of it. I want you to be careful and you aren’t being careful.” He turned Cas slightly, handed the cookie jar to Sam, and then popped him five times on the rear, earning a loud squeal and yelp of pain. “Now, until you are back in your normal vessel, no more grace, or it’s another spanking.” 

The tears rolled down Cas’s face but he nodded all the same. This is when Dean noticed that Cas was, well, naked. 

“When did you take off your jammies? And why?”

He gulped. “I was hot.” He started after a minute. “So I took them off.” 

“Well, I mean, alright I guess. You still hot?”

“No.” He shook his head. Dean nodded and re-dressed Cas before laying him back down in the crib and tucking him in. Sam flicked off the light and they both walked into the hall. 

He grabbed his brother by the shirt. “Dean, I know what I saw. I saw a grown man in there.”

Dean nodded and looked over his shoulder to the shut door. “I know, and I think I know why. Come on, we need to talk.”

Over the next two weeks, Dean did not let Cas out of his sight, he dragged him to every single thing he did in the bunker and moved the crib into his room for “protection”. It took a while for Dean’s suspicions to be confirmed, but soon, his friend slipped up.

He leaned lazily against the door frame, Cas was playing in the water but unhappy that there were no more bubbles to slap at. Dean left the bottle of bubble bath just out of reach and watched, in little surprise, as Cas stood up, slipped the bracelets off his wrists, and returned to normal size, now able to grab the bubble bath. 

He sat back down, uncapped it, put just a little bit more into the tub, and slipped the bracelets back on, shrinking back down. 

Of course, why didn’t he see it before? How long had Cas been able to do this? The entire time? If so, why didn’t he do it earlier? He lamented on not getting to be enough help, and certainly being forced to be babysat and got to daycares wasn’t that fun. Dean decided to make himself known at that point. “Hey little bee, you almost done playing?”

“Uhh, yeah.” Cas tried so hard to look innocent. Dean swiped up the bubble bath bottle.

“Strange, I thought I put this up higher.” He carefully eyed Cas, waiting for him to crack. 

But, Cas was tough and could lie through his teeth if he tried. “I used my grace to grab it, sorry Dean.” 

“You sure? You know what it means if you used your grace.” Dean replied. _ “Come on.”  _ He thought. _ “Just be honest with me, I saw you.” _

Cas nodded, eyes trained on the water. He was too damn cute like this. Once he was punished for “using his grace” and put to bed Dean called for Sam to meet him in the library. 

“Okay, so, we caught him outright, and he won’t admit to it, so what are we going to do?”

Sam stared off into the dark ceiling beams. “Let’s come up with a plan.”

Dean cracked his knuckles as he stood outside his bedroom door and rolled his neck. He didn’t want to do this today, but he and Sam had to stay strong. He pushed open the door and found Cas still sleeping. 

Walking over he lowered the bars of the crib and picked up his friend, silently apologizing for what he was going to do.

“Hey little bee, did you sleep well?”

Cas opened one eye groggily. “Yes?”

Sam came in with an outfit. “Time to get little boys up and ready for the day. I hope you’re ready for a day of fun and play.” 

They could already see the grimace on Cas’s face, but they had to remain strong. All-day they treated him like a normal four-year-old. Cas was growing more and more uncomfortable as the pair of them used baby talk, refused to let him use the bathroom in peace, and even got out a pacifier to stick into his mouth.

None of which was used for a real four-year-old, but the boys were desperate.

It all came to a head at lunchtime, Cas had been happily eating when Dean took his sandwich from his hand and held it in front of his face. Here we go little bee, eat the nummy food and then we can go lay down for a nap. He pinched Cas’s cheek tenderly.

“Alright, please, stop!” Cas stomped his foot, something that looked awfully like the beginning of a tantrum. Dean gave him a knowing look.

“Little bee, what’s wrong? You’re our baby boy, all I’m doing is helping you.” Sam nodded along and added.

“And little boys need all the help they can get.”

Fat tears were rolling down the puffy cheeks that were glowing red in embarrassment. “You know I am still an adult, why are you treating me like a little kid?” 

“Castiel.” Dean grabbed the boy close and held him to his chest. “Uncle Sam and I just decide, since it doesn’t look like you’ll be big anytime soon, we should just start from scratch and let you grow up as our little one.” 

“Forever and ever.” Sam started, his puppy dog eyes in full effect. Cas’s lip trembled and he shoved away from Dean.

“No, I don’t want that!” He held up one hand and yanked off the bracelet. “I can take them off any time I wish now.” He looked down to the floor, studying the paneling closely. 

Dean let out a breath and sat back on his legs. “I know. I saw you in the bath the other day.” Cas looked up, face growing red again. 

“So, why?” Sam asked as he leaned against the wall. “If you could, why didn’t you just tell us?” 

Cas’s hands clenched into fists. “When you two took me to daycare, Gabriel told me to take this as a chance to be a child again, not a warrior, not an angel, but a genuine child. You two didn’t seem to mind, after all, I was still in the right mind, save for my tantrums, and I didn’t need too much help all things considered. I had accepted my fate but discovered while I was washing my hands that I could slip them off.”

“Cas, that was months ago now.” Sam replied. 

He looked down at his shoes. “I’m sorry, I understand if you two are angry and I understand if you don’t want me around anymore after the stunt I pulled.”

Sam knelt beside Dean and they both put a hand on his shoulders. “Hey, no, look man. We get it.”

“You do?”

Dean nodded. “Of course, and you know, it wasn’t too horrible in the end, you were a good kid and while it had its ups and downs, it was pretty fun.”

Sam ruffled his hair. “Come on, permanently age up, and let’s all go grab a beer, alright?”

Cas nodded and left the room to go re-age. Sam and Dean shared a look and nodded. It was good to finally have their friend back at his correct age. 

Dean looked up from the fridge as Cas walked in, the familiar trench coat on, his scruffy five o’clock shadow on his once smooth, toddler face.

“I have admit, my grace feels much better being able to stretch out. I also missed seeing the tops of counters.” Dean smiled and handed him a beer. While it wouldn’t get him drunk and he couldn’t taste it, it was still an appreciated gesture.

Sam came in and took a seat. “Well, I got the bracelets put away and with a long detailed note of what they are and how they shouldn’t be put on.” He chuckled as Dean handed him a beer too. “Honestly, since you had so much fun Cas, I think I might give them a go.”

“I would kill you first.” Dean playfully scolded. “I raised you once, ain’t doing it again.” The three of them laughed.

Finally, all of this mess was over. Dean finally got to relax in his bed and not worry about a crying child keeping him awake. Tomorrow they would return a lot of the stuff they bought for Cas and get at least some of the money back. Oh, maybe he could buy that new jacket he had eyed the last time they went shopping.

He wouldn’t admit it, but he did sort of have fun. Cas was an alright child, if a bit stubborn, like normal. He rolled over and closed his eyes. 

Maybe, if he ever did get to retire from hunting he would finally settle down, get married, and have a kid of his own.

Heh, yeah, and pigs could fly. 

Dean’s eyes shot open to the sound of a child crying. Grabbing his gun from the nightstand, he shot out of bed and out into the hall. Cas emerged from down the hall, his angel blade in hand. 

“You hear that too?”

“Yeah, sounds like Sam’s room.” They both made their way down the hallway, skittering to a stop in front of Sam’s door. Dean counted as Cas took hold of the handle and on three they shoved it open.

Sam sat in the middle of the room, his pajama bottoms engulfing him. His hair covered his face, but Dean could see misty green eyes as he tried to hold back his tears. He was no older looking than 7. On his wrists, were two tiny gold bracelets. 

Dean scooped him up and held him close, little Sam finally calming down to the familiar scent of his big brother. Cas knelt to the floor and picked up an envelope, which had even more cash in it and a note.

“Oh no.” Cas groaned. He looked over his shoulder. “It’s from Gabriel.” Dean held out his hand and took the note.

_ Howdy boys, _

_ You know, the experience with Castiel taught me that some tricks are good as gold and should be used multiple times.  _

_ These are the same bracelets as before, but the lovely idea of a sticking curse just kept popping into my head. Going to take a little bit more thought than last time boys, good luck! _

_ With lots of love and tricks, Gabriel. _

_ P.S. Not available for babysitting this time around.  _

Dean felt the note crumpled in his hand as he shook with fury. “Gabriel, I swear, I’m going to pluck every one of your stupid feathers and then deep fry me an archangel!”

Cas sighed. “Dean, I have even more bad news.”

“Oh, what could be worse?” Cas held up a piece of paper that he recognized as a receipt.

“I think we will be going past the 90-day return limit.” Dean could only slap his hand to his face as Sam giggled in his arms. 


End file.
